Behind The Scenes
by shadowjack12345
Summary: Stuff happens. You'll have to read it to find out what ;) First chapter is more of a little teaser.
1. Opening Credits

**Behind The Scenes 1 - Opening Credits**

**Well! Here we go again. This opening is more like a teaser, setting up the story to come. Its an idea I've had for some time and am ready to start writing it. I expect it will take some time so I hope I don't overtax your patience. Let's go!**

**Oh, and I don't own the Titans or profit from this story.**

A dark room. It is filled with the sound of polite but enthusiastic applause. As light pierces the shadow, it becomes clear that there is a sign attached to the ceilng, blinking on and off. It merely says 'Applause'. There is no visible audience. All of a sudden, a set is illuminated, looking everything like the American Dream of the 50s: a tidy, pastel living room no doubt connected to a tidy, pastel house. Music begins, a warming but typical score with strings and harps. A voice rings out to address the invisible audience.

"_Hello and welcome, one and all, to another episode of... __**Happy Campers**__!"_

The "crowd" cheered, whistled and made merry. The voice returned.

"_Aaaaaand here he is, the man of the house: Mr Tom Camper!"_

The front door opened, allowing a young man to enter. He wore a sharp but old-fashioned grey suit, complete wih hat. It rather complemented his green skin. With a stammer and flushed cheeks, he spoke loudly.

"H-Honey! I'm hoooome!"

"_And waiting for him, the woman of his dreams: Mrs Lucy Camper!_"

From the kitchen, in stepped a young woman wearing a blue, polka-dot dress with a fairly conservative neckline and a wide skirt past her knees, accentuated by a wide, white belt, white pumps and a white flower in her violet hair. Even her grey skin seemed to add to her beauty. With a stubborn glare and folded arms, eventually she spoke, much to the joy of the "audience".

"Welcome home...(sigh)... darling."

**INSERT TEEN TITANS THEM HERE!**

**That's all you're getting for now, more to come fairly soon, I hope ;)**

**-Jack**


	2. Flashback

**Behind The Scenes 2 - Flashback**

**Well, the teaser got some attention. Which is good! Now we get to see how they got themselves in such a predicament...**

"TITANS, GO!"

Robin's cry filled the space of the empty movie theater, his compatriots leaping into action. Derisively and perhaps unwisely, their foe laughed at them in mockery.

"_Titans go, Titans go!_... Go wherever and do whatever you like, Titans. You will fall and taste defeat at the hands of your arch-nemesis: Contrroool Frrrrrrreak!" He laughed again, pointing his remote at several small televisions he had set up in defence. Starfire was assailed by a squadron of miniature X-Wing fighters. Beast Boy would have been anxious to see if one of them contained a mini-Luke Skywalker if he wasn't being pursued by an artistically-exaggerated-in-size velociraptor. Robin was challenged to a duel by none other than the Witch-King of Angmar and ducked and swerved around his heavy mace. Cyborg was exchanging blows with Atom, a boxing robot. Raven found herself under attack by a brace of flying monkeys and, as she dodged, she curled a lip at them.

"Is this a witch joke?", she muttered. With a thought, blades of black energy appeared in front of each apparition and sliced them neatly in half. The disjointed parts dissolved into static before vanishing altogether. She examined the other enemies around them. "Okay... time to change the channel." She rocketed towards Cyborg and, with a not insubstantial effort of will, conjured a box around the fighting robot, Atom. She clenched her jaw and shut her eyes as the box compressed, compacting the robot like a car at a scrapyard. Her magic dissolved and a neat metal cube dropped to the floor, dissolving soon after. Cyborg looked at Raven, impressed.

"Nice one, Rae-Rae!" he cheered. Raven sighed.

"Don't call me that. Let's help the others" They moved towards Beast Boy and as he weaved, Cyborg was able to get a clean shot, eliminating the simulated predator.

"Whoo! Thanks, dudes. The movie versions are way scarier than the real ones," Beast Boy said.

"There's a difference?" Cyborg asked.

"Oh yeah, the real 'raptors were only-"

"Do you mind?" Raven said, interrupting Beast Boy. "We should probably help Robin and Starfire before we discuss paleontological accuracy in cinema. Cyborg, you get whatever Robin's fighting and I'll-"

"Wait!" Beast Boy cried. Raven jerked and looked at him in surprise. "That's the Witch-King, dude! He can't be killed by-"

"By a man," Raven agreed. "So that's what the movie version looks like? Hm. Not bad," she muttered under her breath. "Okay, I'll go after the Witch-King, you help Starfire." With that, the three of them leapt into action. Beast Boy leapt into the air as a gorilla, attempting to grab the miniature spacecraft out of the air with limited success. Cyborg took careful aim and blasted them one at a time. Raven approached Robin carefully, listening to the Witch-King's bluster.

"You think to slay me? No man can do so," he hissed. Raven alighted in front of him, conjuring herself an ebony sword with a dangerous smirk on her face.

"No man am I, you look upon a woman!" she said, stabbing the sword into the face of their enemy. The fake Nazgul shrivelled up and faded away and, though the effect was far weaker, Raven felt weakness and numbness in her arm. "Should have remembered that," she mumbled. Her attention was caught when Robin cried out.

"TItans, take cover!" Raven looked up: Control Freak was pointing his remote at the gathered heroes. They all scattered and dived for cover - except Raven. Her experience with the Witch-King had left her fatigued and, as she tried to move, she stumbled and fell. As she struggled to her knees, she heard two things at once: the tell-tale sound of Control Freak's remote and the voice of Beast Boy.

"Raven, look out!" he cried, throwing himself towards her. Everything turned red... then faded to nothing. Control Freak stamped his feet in frustration: he had hoped to get all of them at once. His tantrum was stopped short by Robin, who grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back.

"Where are they?!" he growled.

"Uhhhhh... Rob? I found 'em," Cyborg said uncertainly. Robin looked up. A TV connected to some unidentifiable technology was showing an old sitcom. There was Raven, looking grumpily at a nervous but grinning Beast Boy.

"Welcome home...(sigh)... darling."

Raven awoke with a groan. Her head hurt. Her arm hurt. Her knees hurt. _Everything _hurt. She opened her eyes and immediately squeezed them shut again: her vision swam and made the pain in her skull burn even brighter. Slowly, the pain lessened to a dull throb, and she dared to crack open her eyes. They opened wide in subsequent confusion. The movie theater was gone, replaced by a living room so bright and cheerful it made Raven physically sick. The doors were all white, along with the window-frames and stairway. The walls were all pastel blue and the furniture was art deco in matching colours. Raven pushed herself to her feet and was horrified at herself: she was wearing a dress, blue with polka-dots. She stammered uselessly for a moment when a nearby sound put her on alert. She relaxed when a green face appeared over the back of the couch.

"Oh man... what'd he hit us with?" he asked. His eyes opened. "... Why are you wearing a dress?" He stood up. "_Why am I wearing a suit_?" Suddenly, he started patting himself, looking for pockets. Raven pinched the bridge of her nose.

"What are you doing, Beast Boy?" she asked wearily. He didn't pause.

"Seeing if I got my communicator," he answered. Raven supposed that was a reasonable course of action, though she doubted they- "I need to take a snap of you in that dress! No-one will believe it otherwise." Raven retracted her unspoken statement.

"Never mind that, we need to work out where we are," she said, looking around her. Beast Boy gave up his search and did the same.

"Oh..." he mumbled. Raven waited for him to elaborate. He didn't.

"What?" she asked. He chuckled nervously.

"I uh, I think I know where we are. And why we're wearing these clothes," he said, carefully. Raven waited for him to continue with an impatient glare. "This looks like the house from Happy Campers. It's an old sitcom. Looks like I'm cast as Tom and it looks like you're..." his voice faded into an unintelligible murmur.

"I'm a what?" Raven asked. He swallowed.

"You're Lucy. Tom's wife," he squeaked. Raven didn't move but somehow appeared ready to tear him limb from limb as the bearer of bad news. Nothing happened. Raven looked around herself.

"Why... why did nothing explode?" she wondered. Beast Boy, following her line of thought, attempted to shift. Nothing.

"Guess our powers are nixed for now. I wonder what- _Oooowwww!_" he said, clapping his hand to his forehead. Raven forgot her ire and moved to his side.

"Beast Boy! What is it?" she asked. He shook his head, his eyes closed.

"It's my head. It's killing me! And for some reason, I want to..." he didn't finish but started walking toward the door. He sighed in relief. "I want to go outside. The pain is going. He watched with sympathy as Raven mimicked his earlier pose, suffering her own pain.

"And, for some reason, I want to go to the kitchen," she ground out. "And I somehow know where it is." She started walking, the pain vanishing. "It must be Control Freak. If we don't follow the events of the show, we get... _prompted_." Beast Boy nodded, concluding much the same. Their conversation was halted as he exited the house and she disappeared into the kitchen. The colour was different: the walls and furniture all yellow with white cupboards and appliances. She heard the announcer introducing the show, then Beast Boy. Then, with an air of defeat, she pushed through the door and delivered the line that appeared in her head.

"Welcome home...(sigh)... darling."

**Ta-da! Okay, we all on the same page now? Excellent! A little short but now the premise is set, the story can begin in earnest. I hope you're enjoying it so far!**

**-Jack**


	3. Exposition

**Behind The Scenes 3 - Exposition**

**Let's get back into it! Sorry for the delay, I had a busy time at work and my imagination was getting no energy :/**

"Welcome home... (sigh)... darling."

After Raven finished speaking, they were surrounded by recorded applause for several moments, the noise afterward fading into silence. Raven cleared her throat.

"Well... that was mortifying," she said, matter-of-factly. Beast Boy laughed nervously.

"Ha... yeah." Raven turned away from him to once again examine their surroundings.

"If we're following the show, why are we able to speak again?" she pondered out loud. Unexpectedly, she got an answer.

"The intro ended there, usually. I'm guessing in the time between actual scenes, we're free to do whatever, like the show is just highlights of what we're doing," Beast Boy said, following Raven's example and looking around himself. Raven herself had snapped her attention to him.

"That... actually makes sense," she said, trying to hide her surprise. Beast Boy smiled and looked back at her, flushing under the rare praise.

"Well, I was just thinking about how we were us and then we got our "cues". Made sense that we get prodded into the right places for whatever scene is coming up next. Raven nodded, still impressed. With a grumble, Raven felt the weight in her mind of the unseen controlling force. Before her head began to ache, she turned back into the kitchen. Confused, Beast Boy followed her. Raven apprached the refrigerator but was able to glance back at him, similarly confused.

"You aren't feeling anything?" she asked. He shook his head. "Hm. Why just me?" she wondered, the answer becoming all to clear as she mechanically began gathering ingredients. "Oh Azar... I'm going to cook dinner!"

...

"Ummm... wow!" was all Beast Boy could say. Raven had begun expertly preparing her ingredients with a mildly astonished smile. Her one and only attempt at cooking had been the disastrous pre-apocalypse pancakes she had served her team before the rise and subsequent fall of Trigon the Terrible. She had never even entertained the idea of trying again, though she occasionally wished her pancakes had been more successful. Now she watched as her hands deftly sliced, peeled and diced the food before her, hoping she might retain some of the skills. She was still definitely going to punch Control Freak in the face, though. Her fascination turned to uncertainty, however, as she began preparing the next ingredient: turkey. She managed to glanceat Beast Boy, who was looking fearfully at the meat in her hands. Even without her powers, she could sense his unrest: he was going to be forced to eat meat. Even as her hands continued to work, she watched him and spoke.

"Beast Boy..." she began.

"I'm gonna be sick," he murmured, swallowing the bile at the back of his throat. Raven shook her head.

"Beast Boy, it isn't real. It isn't meat!" she tried. He didn't even look at her.

"What? But it's got wings and legs and bones and-"

"Think, Beast Boy! We're in a TV show. We're in a simulation, nothing here is real. My dress, your suit, this house and this food. It's all synthetic," she said, noting with relief that his eyes grew less panicked as he listened. He nodded tiredly.

"Yeah... yeah, you're right. It's not real," he mumbled.

"It isn't real," Raven repeated. "In fact, it's more like I'm trying your food: fake meat." His eyes finally moved from the food to look at her face, his ears pricked in surprise at Raven's attempt at a joke. He smiled broadly.

"Ha! Good one, Rae!" he laughed. Raven smiled and turned away, wishing for her hood. Later, the pair felt the pressure at the back of their minds and took their places at the dinner table. As they ate, the applause and laughter returned as they bantered about "Tom's" day at work, which hadn't actually happened. It was a bizarre experience, talking animatedly about something they didn't actually know about, the facts and names just spilling from their mouths. Raven was conflicted as she had been about her time in the kitchen: she had never been able to laugh so freely and was partly glad to experience it... but the laughter wasn't her own. It was forced upon her and, without that choice, it was utterly offensive. In one thing, however, she felt no conflict.

She was _definitely_ going to punch Control Freak in the face.

_**CONTROL FREAK'S "LAIR"**_

Cyborg stood silently, examining Control Freak's equipment with his electronic eye. He was being expecially thorough and had stood, still and silent, for five straight minutes. Finally, he moved, turning to face Robin and Starfire.

"Well, I know one thing: this tech ain't from Earth," he said. Robin glanced at Control Freak than back to Cyborg.

"Not from Earth? Any idea where it came from?" he asked. Cyborg shook his head.

"Not yet, I need to get closer, but I don't wanna start taking anything apart or hitting buttons while BB and Rae are..." his words trailed off as he turned to the screen. Beast Boy and Raven were having dinner. A turkey dinner. He swore he could see his friend's discomfort in his eyes. He turned and marched toward Control Freak, grabbing his collar and lifting him from the ground, his legs swinging helplessly.

"Cyborg!" Starfire yelped. Cyborg held up his other hand, warding off his colleagues.

"You made my friend eat meat. _You_ made my _vegetarian friend. Eat. Meat_!" he growled. Control Freak cowered. "Just so we're clear, I would very much like to hurt you. And it wouldn't be hard." With that, Cyborg grabbed a nearby piece of hardware from a parts shelf. With no effort, he crushed it in front of Control Freak's nose, eliciting more terrified whimpers. Cyborg tossed the villain aside and returned to his work. Starfire breathed a sigh of relief. She floated to Cyborg's side while Robin none-too-gently lifted Control Freak to his feet.

"Your indignation on your friend's behalf does you credit, Cyborg," she said. Cyborg glanced at her, at the floor and back at the machinery.

"Maybe. Sorry I lost it there, Star. I know I'm always messin' with him about what he eats but... some lines shouldn't be crossed, y'know?" he replied.

"I do know," Starfire agreed. "But I must ask that you leave the Control Freak undamaged. At least until we have retrieved out friends. Then you may damage him." Cyborg snickered at her, saying that with a huge, innocent smile on her face.

"I'll try, Star. I'll tr-... Oh, man," Cyborg said. Robin stepped closer.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I've worked out where the tech is from. The materials are from Earth, so I think it was actually made here, but it's a copy of alien tech with some genuinely extraterrestrial parts in the mix," he reported.

"Copied from..." Robin hinted. Cyborg turned to stare incredulously at Control Freak.

"A Mother Box. Control Freak has a Mother Box."

_**THE CAMPER RESIDENCE**_

"Tom" and "Lucy" finished their dinner, still chatting. Beast Boy rose to his feet, his plate in hand, heading for the kitchen. With a blush of sudden realisation, he stopped next to Raven.

"Dinner was perfect, sweetheart. Thanks," he said, easily, leaning down and pecking her on the cheek. For her part, Raven tipped her head to permit him. Beast Boy vanished into the kitchen and the weight vanished: they were themselves again. Raven flushed scarlet, her hand pressed to her cheek. Beast Boy was in much the same state in the kitchen. Raven paced around the small dining table: she shouldn't have been so surprised, they were cast as a married couple after all. It left her with a bigger, terrifying question, though: what else would they be made to do? Beast Boy emerged, stammering apologies, insisting he should have remembered that was going to happen.

"We should both have expected something like that. We're playing at husband and wife," she said. His words gave rise to another question: "You know this show?"

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "I remembered my parents watched this show, even if I couldn't remember much about it. My mom - my adoptive mom, Rita - she helped me find it. She watched it with me, too, the whole series. I should have realised, Rae... it's just kinda different from the inside. I know where we are now, though. I think I can remember most of what happens down the line." Raven nodded. This was helpful. Without warning, the weight returned, gently urging them into place.

"I... I want to go upstairs," Raven said.

"Me too," Beast Boy agreed. "Must be time to film the bedroom scene." Raven regarded him with wide and panicked eyes.

"W-_what_?!" she shrieked. Her brain stalled. She had just been wondering what they could be made to do... could they-... would they-... would _Beast Boy-_

"Oh sh- Raven no! That is _not_ what's happening!" Beast Boy shouted. Raven looked over her shoulder at him as the weight grew heavier and she began to ascend the stairs. He followed, his flailing arms at odds with his measured steps.

"Tell me!" she demanded. He took a breath - he needed to say this right.

"The show... it was super-conservative! There's no s-sex, no nudity... they only filmed one episode with an actual kiss and it never got aired. Nothing like that will happen, Raven," he insisted. Raven shuddered with relief. They reached the bedroom and Beast Boy elected to wait outside while Raven changed, enduring a slight headache. Raven told him he could enter and saw she had hidden in the en suite bathroom so give him his own privacy. He quickly changed into the blue pajamas he found in the closet. He called out to Raven when he was decent. She walked in, eliciting an amused smile from the changeling. She wore a floor-length nightdress with a neckline that was genuinely around her neck. She smirked but glared at him all the same. He wordlessly raised his hands in surrender and moved to his bed, a single and separate from Raven's. As he passed her, Raven reached out and held Beast Boy's shoulder.

"Thank you, Beast Boy. For putting my mind at ease," she said. He shook his head, smiling back.

"I should have said something sooner... but you're welcome, Rae. Thanks for helping me with dinner," he replied. Raven dipped her head in acknowledgement before releasing him and climbing into her own bed. Beast Boy found himself staring at a newspaper and Raven found her hands occupied again, this time with knitting, when the scene started. There were a few bad gags, some more idle chatter and a sickeningly obvious moral before it ended. They felt the weight sending them to sleep and tried to speak before it took them.

"G'night, Rae."

"Goodnight, Beast Boy."

**And there it is, the next bit. Not a lot going on but BB and Rae are finding their feet in this bizarre prison and the rest of the team are realising how difficult this is gonna get. A freakin' Mother Box?! More on the way! Read, enjoy and review ^_^**

**-Jack**


	4. Meet The In-Laws

**Behind The Scenes 4 - Meet The In-Laws**

**Apologies for delayed update. I'm lazy and stuff.**

Robin stared at Cyborg, his mouth open and twitching up at the corners in disbelief. It couldn't be... right?

"A mother box. He can't have a mother box, that'd be... that's-" he stammered.

"Impossible," Cyborg agreed. "But in our line of work, impossible is every weekend. The real question is _how_ he got it." Three hostile pairs of eyes settled on the villain. Even now, he attempted to negotiate.

"I'll tell you... in exchange for some time alone with the enchanting Starfire," he said, winking at the alien princess, much to her confusion.

"Enchanting? You are mistaken: I am not the one with mystical abilities, Raven is," she said. Cyborg glowered at Control Freak.

"You want a date with Star? How likely do you really think that is?" he fumed. Starfire, comprehension all over her face, wrinkled her nose at the idea.

"Um... no, thank you," was all she could think to say at that moment.

"Alright," Robin said, causing the other two to stare at him, dumbfounded. "You want to be alone with Starfire? I can arrange that. Just you and her and a locked door. You, alone, in a sealed room with a girl who can tear sheet steel like paper and burn a hole through concrete by looking at it. I can arrange that... unless you'd like to withdraw your offer and just spill everything you know." Control Freak, now in a cold sweat, swallowed what he assumed must be his heart in his throat and nodded.

"Sure... I'll tell you."

_**THE CAMPER RESIDENCE**_

Raven blinked the sleep out of her eyes. Her night's rest had been surprisingly... well, restful. She glanced at the bed near her own: Beast Boy was gone. She lay back for a moment and stared at the ceiling, thinking: yesterday had been a harsh lesson in the truth of their situation. She had allowed herself to feel safe, making dinner and having auto-pilot conversations with a similarly controlled Beast Boy. She should have known, given the nature of the show they were in, that nothing indecent could happen but for one moment, before logic set in, she feared it. That moment stayed with her, that sensation that they were prisoners. They had to get out. She flung back the sheets and swung her feet to the floor. Finding slippers and a robe near at hand, she went downstairs to find Beast Boy, in his pajamas with a robe and slippers, standing in the kitchen. He simply stood, staring at the appliances and cupboards, turning to grin at her sheepishly when he heard the door.

"Mornin' Rae!" he said. Raven frowned at him.

"Why are you just standing here?" she asked. He laughed, self-consciously.

"Well, it turns out that Tom doesn't cook on the show. Ever. So when I try and make something, I get that pain in my head. Unless it's coffee. I hate coffee," he said, disconsolately. Raven shook her head.

"Well, I suppose that means I'm feeding us while we're in here. You know this probably means bacon or sausages or some other cliche breakfast food, right?" she said. Beast Boy inhaled deeply and sighed loudly, looking defeated.

"I know... I thought maybe we didn't need the food if this is all fake or whatever... but I was _hungry_ when I woke up this morning," he confessed. Raven nodded, assembling some ingredients on auto-pilot. She had guessed wrong: she was making eggs.

"Hmm. Either we're just plugged into Tom and Lucy's appetites or it's somehow generating food for us," Raven tried. Beast Boy nodded, perched on a stool at the breakfast bar.

"Yeah, like a replicator," he agreed. Raven furrowed her brow.

"Replicator? I thought those were those robot spider things from that show with the soldiers walking through the water portal thing..." Beast Boy's brow knitted at her words, his face lighting up in understanding a few moments later.

"Stargate? SG-1? You know that show?" he asked jubilantly. Raven rolled her eyes, even though she had her back to him.

"You and Cyborg marathoned the whole show last week, I was bound to pick up a few things. But how is that relevant to our food?" she responded. Beast Boy shook his head.

"No, I meant the _other_ replicators. From Star Trek." Raven was nonplussed, so he elaborated. "Okay, in Stargate, they call the spider things replicators, right? Right. Well, in Star Trek, they had replicators on the ships that could make any food you wanted. That's what I meant." Raven nodded her understanding.

"I get it... I think. I don't know how you keep all of these franchises straight in your head," she muttered. He grinned at her back.

"Years of practice, Rae," he laughed. She smiled at the eggs in the pan. While not really paying attention, her hands had also cooked some peeled tomatoes and buttered bread for each of them. The little breakfast was assembled and placed on the bar. Beast Boy clutched his fork with more than a little apprehension. Unsurprisingly, he opted for the tomatoes first.

"Remember, Beast Boy: they aren't real," she said gently.

"I know... but they smell real," he mumbled.

"Why won't you eat eggs, anyway? I get not eating meat but eggs like this would never hatch into chicks - they were never fertilized," Raven asked. He reluctantly put an egg between two slices of bread and munched his sandwich with his eyes closed.

"Yeah, I know. Never been good at doin' stuff half-way, y'know? All or nothin'?" Raven smiled at him, knowing he couldn't see her. However, his eyes opened suddenly, letting him see her smile in its entirety. He did nothing but smile in return. Raven felt an electric and utterly unfamiliar jolt in her belly.

'_What the heck was that?_'

_**CONTROL FREAK'S LAIR**_

"_eBay_?!" Cyborg cried. "You expect us to believe you bought a freakin' mother box on eBay?" Control Freak cowered in Cyborg's shadow.

"I swear, I did! Lots of villains use auction sites as a cover for trading illicit goods. If you don't know what to look for, you'd never suspect. There are always normal items to send to people who try to buy the decoy stuff too!" Robin was suddenly very glad he had asked Cyborg to record their chat with Control Freak: this information would be very useful to them and their allies.

"Keep. Talking," he said. Control Freak nodded.

"Before I met you, before I was Control Freak, I designed my holographic projectors, a precursor to the emitters I use to generate the hard-light images of my 'minions'. I sold the rights to a tech company for... a lot of money. MIllions," he explained. Cyborg let out a low whistle. "I wanted to make the next step and needed a more powerful computer... I decided I needed something more powerful than what is available. On Earth, anyway. Eventually, I tracked down someone who claimed to have parts and schematics for a mother box: I could follow them easily enough, even though I didn't always know what I was building. The parts that were supplied were the key components, things no-one could hope to copy. It took almost all the money I had left but I got it... and built it. That's about when I decided to try the supervillain thing. Turns out I found my calling..." he said, wistfully. Cyborg snorted derisively while Robin shook his head in disbelief.

"You threw away a fortune and gave up technology that would have changed the modern world and made you richer than Bruce Wayne for this?" he said, waving his hands around at Control Freak's "lair". "For _this_?!"

"Well... yeah," Control Freak admitted. Robin slapped his hand to his face.

"This guy is even crazier than I thought..." he mumbled. Cyborg looked thoughtfully between Control Freak and his homemade mother box.

"Did you say schematics?"

_**THE CAMPER RESIDENCE**_

Raven and Beast Boy had finished their breakfast and gotten washed and dressed. Beast Boy had revealed that this 'episode' was set on a Saturday, so he didn't even have to pretend to go to work. They had played out a dull scene where Beast Boy sat reading a nonsense newspaper and bantering with Raven while she flitted around the set with a feather duster. And all to the sound of canned laughter. Raven decided again that she would punch Control Freak in the face. Afterward, Raven sat on the couch with Beast Boy and grumbled - the dusting had made her nose itch.

"So what's this episode about?" she asked. Beast Boy, now folding up the paper, turned to face her.

"Tom and Lucy's parents come to visit. Standard in-law conflict stuff. Nothing too traumatic, if I remember. Tom's come first and get their visit stepped on by Lucy's parents," he explained. As he finished speaking, the doorbell rang and Raven felt the pressure in her head. She stood and went to open the door with Beast Boy standing and waiting in the living room. Raven let Tom's parents in, not even paying attention to the words spilling out of her mouth. They looked a little familiar... perhaps she had seen the show in passing once or twice. Then she saw Beast Boy, standing utterly still with wide, frantic eyes.

"Dad? M-Mommy?" he whispered. Raven's heart dropped into her shoes.

'_Oh no..._'

**Oh deary dear! So much for nothing traumatic, BB! Suffice to say, I don't own Stargate or Star Trek either. In fact, would shows like that even work in a world that has openly alien inhabitants? We'll never know. Anyway, hope this was worth the wait. Enjoy!**

**-Jack**


	5. Family Reunions

**Behind The Scenes 5 - Family Reunions**

**Left you all on a cliff edge last time... and for a **_**long**_** time lol. Let's go!**

"Dad? M-Mommy?"

'_Oh no..._' Raven thought, her gaze flicking between a shell-shocked Beast Boy and the grinning simulations of his parents. His deceased biological parents. At a loss for what to do next, Raven did the only thing she could: she gave in to the ache in her skull and let the scripted dialogue spill from her lips, moving to greet her "in-laws". There were some passive-aggressive moments between her and the mother-in-law. How cliche. There was a lull and the fake parents seemed to pause, obviously waiting for their son to speak his lines. He stood and watched with wide, watery eyes. Finally, after the longest five seconds Raven had ever experienced, his face contorted in pain and he began to recite his lines. Sorrow bloomed in Raven's chest, watching her friend speak lightly and casually while tears fell from his horrified eyes.

The scene only lasted a few minutes but the time was interminable. The moment they were released, Beast Boy collapsed to the floor, wracked with grief. Raven froze for a fraction of a second before moving to his side, sparing a glance at their guests - they were unmoving, staring at nothing. Cautiously, she reached out and laid a hand on Beast Boy's shoulder. His sobbing stopped and his entire body tensed, causing Raven to flinch and back away. Slowly, he raised his head and faced her. Her heart broke, seeing him look so lost, so... _bereft_. She returned her hand to his shoulder and tried to smile as he stared over her shoulder at the things wearing his parents' faces. He growled and rubbed his face, clambering to his feet. Raven tried to say something, she really did, but now words seemed good enough. Eventually, he beat her to it.

"It isn't them," he mumbled. Raven stepped closer to hear him better.

"Beast Boy?" she said, quietly. He turned to face her, looking stronger but weary.

"It isn't them. These things aren't my parents. They don't act right, don't sound or smell right. It isn't them," he reiterated.

"It isn't them," Raven agreed, her hand still on his shoulder. Beast Boy glanced back at the fakes and then back at Raven.

"I'm gonna punch Control Freak in the face for this," he said, plainly. Raven forced a playful smirk.

"The line starts with me, Beast Boy. I'm sure he can take two punches." Beast Boy almost smiled. Almost. He furrowed his brow and stared at the floor for a long moment, speaking without looking up.

"Raven, I'm gonna ask a favour, something I wouldn't normally ask of you," he said, seriously. Raven squeezed his shoulder.

"Name it," she said gently. He looked up at her.

"Can I... can I have a hug, please? I know you don't normally go in for that sorta thing but I kinda need some human contact y'know and-" his rambling ceased when Raven gingerly wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. His eyes closed, shedding some new and relieved tears. He began to mutter to himself. "You're here. You're here. I'm not alone. I'm not alone." Raven didn't interrupt him, simply concentrating on holding her friend and making sure her powers didn't... wait. She _had_ no powers. For once, she allowed her feelings to swallow her up as they did everyone else. They had no idea how long they were stood there but, after a time, they both began to feel the pain in their heads.

"Beast Boy..." Raven warned.

"I know," he grumbled. They released each other and Raven found herself heading to the kitchen, accompanied by the eerily silent fake mother-in-law. She realised with a gasp that Beast Boy and the other fake were staying behind. One look at him and she knew he had known he was going to be left alone with the thing wearing his father's face, so much like his own if he had remained human.

"They aren't real!" she called back as she reached the door. "I'll be with you soon." He nodded grimly before she lost sight of him.

_**CONTROL FREAK'S LAIR**_

Family was a sore spot with all of the Titans. Control Freak had no way of knowing that, of course. Still, he realised he had pushed some pretty dangerous buttons from the looks he was getting. Starfire hovered an inch from the floor, arms folded and legs together, looking everything like the warrior queen she had almost become, eyes glowing in contempt. Robin was... he wasn't sure what he was doing or how he was doing it but Control Freak was _terrified_ of him. A part of his brain was screaming at him to run and hide, that Robin was determined to kill him! He closed his eyes and logically concluded that Robin didn't kill. Would never kill. When his eyes opened, Robin was still staring at him.

"Please don't kill me!" he squeaked. Robin didn't answer. Didn't threaten him. Didn't assure him his life wasn't in danger. Didn't smile or laugh or snarl or frown. He just stared while Control Freak melted into a gibbering wreck. Cyborg was still analysing the schematics of Control Freak's replica mother box, his hands gripping and twisting and bending the edges of the metal workbench he was using, all while occasionally glancing at the TV where Beast Boy and Raven happily greeted copies of Beast Boy's parents.

_**THE CAMPER RESIDENCE**_

Beast Boy collapsed on the sofa, glancing sideways at the copies of his parents. They had gone still again and he and Raven were, for the time being, free of the show. He was so _tired_. Raven perched on the arm of the sofa next to him, placing her hand on his shoulder again. She didn't speak a work but that show of support, of solidarity, was enough. He sighed deeply and placed his hand over hers in silent gratitude. She smiled down at the sight of their hands, not intertwined but simpy touching. She rarely allowed herself to enjoy physical contact and, even though she knew it might make going back to that habit more painful, she surrendered to the simple joy of the sensation. Suddenly, a sharp knock on the door jerked her from her introspection. The fake in-laws were animated and looking at the door in what was supposed to be comic confusion. Beast Boy, in his role as Tom, gave "Lucy" a questioning look before he got up to answer the door. Raven knew who it was and had been bracing herself for the moment since Beast Boy's parents had shown up. The door opened and Raven swallowed the bittersweet feelings that arose in her at the sight of Arella, her necessarily distant mother. They had never been close as Beast Boy had with his parents, even though she knew that she and her mother both wished they could have been. Still, the regret and grief she felt now was powerful. She braced herself for what she knew must come next but she, for one, was surprised at her reaction.

She _laughed_.

Beast Boy, even through the haze of their scripted actions, looked at her with wide and astonished eyes before he turned to greet their final guest and understood her merriment.

Trigon sauntered in, wearing a white shirt, a pink sweater vest and pants . His expression was pleasant and he winked one of his shining yellow eyes at his daughter. He spoke casually to Beast Boy and his fake father about mundane things like golf and lawns, all with sulphurous smoke leaking from his nose and mouth. The image was certainly... memorable. Throughout the entire scene, Raven smiled in faint amusement.

_**CONTROL FREAK'S LAIR**_

Cyborg watched with amazement as Trigon arrived to visit his friends. More amazing was Raven's obvious mirth, something he was glad for. Raven still feared her father, even in death. Hopefully, this image of him might diminish that fear. Shaking his head, he returned to his work.

_**THE CAMPER RESIDENCE**_

Exhausted and finally free of their guests _and_ of the script, Beast Boy and Raven sat wearily on the sofa.

"Well... that was something," Beast Boy said. Raven smirked at his understatment.

"Yes. Definitely something." Beast Boy seemed to hesitate for a moment before speaking again.

"I'm... I'm glad you parents weren't... uh... that you didn't..." he said, grasping for the words.

"You're glad I didn't have it as bad as you?" Raven finished for him.

"Well... yeah," he agreed. Raven closed her eyes and leaned back.

"That picture of Trigon the Terrible is going to stay with me for a long time," she laughed.

"No..." Beast Boy murmured, getting her attention. "No, I meant your mom. I was worried you..." He trailed off there, unsure what to say. Raven took his meaning, however. Her smile shrank and her eyes shone with sadness.

"I do miss my mother, though we weren't close. We always regretted that we couldn't, for our own safety, of course. It's an old hurt, one I came to terms with years ago. Still, seeing her in such a way was... unpleasant," she admitted. Beast Boy's face fell a little.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. Raven turned to regard the boy. He was clearly distraught by his own experience and still found time to worry about her. She was suddenly and extremely grateful to have met him. Her hand stretched out to his arm.

"You're a good friend, Beast Boy. And a good person." At her words, he smiled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head and looking away from her. Once he had recovered from his embarrassment, he spoke again.

"I'm kinda frazzled. Wanna get ready for bed before the migraine fairy comes and makes us?" he asked.

"No more scenes down here?" she asked. He shook his head, confidently.

"Nope. Straight to the bedroom." Raven shrugged.

"Sure, why not?" The pair of them stood and began ascending the stairs, Beast Boy in front. Outside the bedroom door, Beast Boy stopped, almost causing Raven to collide with him. She opened her mouth to ask what was wrong before she noticed his posture: his fists were clenched, his shoulders were hunched... he was trembling.

"I... I was starting to forget them," he muttered. He whipped around to face Raven. She saw the unshed tears glittering in his eyes. He looked angry. "I only have a couple of pictures... and they aren't too great. I was starting to forget what they really looked like. Now I see them in my head like that, being driven like a damn car!" he said, harshly. The tears began to flow as he stood there, helplessly. Raven was slow to act but eventually realised what to do, what she should already be doing. She put her arms around him again and hugged him close. He slumped against her and cried and cursed into her neck. She stroked his hair and mumbled what he hoped were soothing words into his ear. He had calmed down considerably when they were forced to separate by the weight in their minds. Beast Boy pulled away and stared wordlessly at Raven: he didn't know what he could say that would express his gratitude. She merely smiled at him sympathetically and indicated the door.

"You first," she said. He smiled, self-consciously, before nodding and entering. He later called out to Raven, letting her know she could follow. He hid in the bathroom as she changed. She took her own turn in the bathroom and, as the weight pressed harder, they each climbed into the beds. Once again, they went through the banter and jokes, followed by another obvious moral-of-the-story before the weight pressed again, sending them to sleep. Beast Boy sleepily reached out toward Raven and, equally disoriented, Raven reached back. Their hands touched for a moment before they fell, each of them turning away in their sleep.

_**CONTROL FREAK'S LAIR**_

Cyborg hissed in frustration. Robin stepped closer to speak to him.

"Problem?" he asked quietly. Cyborg nodded.

"Yeah. I can follow the schematics, same as Control Freak. But I don't fully comprehend what everything does. I could build it with the right parts but I couldn't begin to explain how it works," he admitted. He looked Robin in the eye. "I think we need a consulation." Robin's brow arched.

"A consultation? With who?" he asked. With a bitter smile, showing he couldn't quite believe what he was about to say, Cyborg answered.

"With a god."

**Boooom! Stuff getting heavy now! Some of you may guess which character I'm gonna call on next, some of you may be surprised. If you think you know, all I ask is that you don't guess in reviews. Might accidentally be a spoiler! lol Anyhoo, read and enjoy!**

**-Jack**


	6. Season Finale

**Behind The Scenes 6 - Season Finale**

**Sorry it's been so long with this one. I wandered from the story I had planned and it turned out to be more difficult to continue than I expected. Anyway, on with the show!**

Beast Boy's eyes cracked open, reluctantly, and with a sigh of disappointment, he looked up at the ceiling of the Campers' bedroom. He had hoped he would wake up back in his own bedroom and that the whole escapade had been only a dream. Having said that, however...

"Beast Boy?" Raven said groggily. He turned to face her and smiled. She smiled back, truly and honestly. Beast Boy's smile grew a little wider at that.

"Mornin', Rae," he returned. Despite the obvious downside, he was glad to have been given an opportunity to get closer to the sorceress. They were all good friends, of course, but Raven kept what she felt was a necessary distance most of the time. But there were moments when she drew closer: she bonded with Starfire during the puppet fiasco, for example. She linked her mind to Robin to save him. Those were out of necessity rather than desire but still brought them closer. Then there was Cyborg and his car, one of the few times Raven voluntarily reached out to one of them on a personal level. For a moment, Beast Boy allowed himself to be envious of the seemingly easy relationship she had with Cyborg, until he remembered the way she had approached him on the shore after the Beast incident. He grinned at the memory, glad she had chosen to reach out to him in his need.

"Beast Boy?" Raven's voice snapped him out of his recollection and he realised he must have been staring at her.

"Sorry, Rae. Just lost in thought I guess." Raven's smiled shifted into her familiar smirk.

"Well, that is unfamiliar territory for you," she joked, dryly.

"Oh, ha ha," he responded sarcastically. He shook his head and swung his legs over the side of the bed, unsure if he preferred Raven's warm smile to Raven's customary jibes. He turned to ask if she wanted to be first in the bathroom but paused as he watched her assume the lotus position and close her eyes. "I thought you didn't have your powers."

"That is true. But after yesterday, I feel I could use a little serenity. I won't be long." She began to chant her mantra quietly as he pushed open the bathroom door. He performed his ablutions efficiently and knocked to make sure Raven was decent. She called him in and rose herself. He quickly dressed while he had the room to himself and waited for her to finish. When she knocked he let her in and swapped places, giving her the privacy to get dressed. He plopped down on the closed toilet and tapped his fingers together. He snickered quietly when he heard Raven grouching at her character's wardrobe through the door. He stepped toward the door and pressed his ear against it. There were several wordless grumbles before she spoke again: "Damn bra..."

"Eep!" Beast Boy squeaked, quietly enough that Raven didn't hear. He recoiled from the door as if it were hot iron and returned to his seat. When Raven had mentioned her unmentionables, Beast Boy's brain had naturally betrayed him and pictured the girl in said unmentionables. He knew Raven didn't have her powers, that she wouldn't be able to sense his feelings, but was still terrified she would somehow know and pulverise him anyway!

No. No, that wasn't fair. The tempestuous friendship between Beast Boy and Raven had, for the most part, progressed past their old cycle of prank and retribution. Not that he didn't still annoy her sometimes, but they had learned to accept each other more readily. As he calmed, he told himself it wasn't a big deal, like whenever someone says 'don't think of an elephant', that's all you can think of. She said bra, he thought bra. And it was perfectly natural for a guy to think about beautiful girls, especially when said guy had a crush on top of that.

"..."

Beast Boy almost slipped from the toilet to the floor, his eyes wide and unseeing at the path his thoughts had taken. He leapt to his feet and stood in front of the bathroom mirror, pointing at his reflection in accusation.

"What did you just _think_?!" he hissed. He almost fainted when there was a light tap at the door.

"Beast Boy, I'm ready," Raven called. Beast Boy looked at his terrified reflection.

"I'm not," he whimpered.

_**CONTROL FREAK'S LAIR**_

Robin tapped his foot and checked his watch for the third time in as many minutes. He grumbled and set his jaw, again for a third time. Cyborg sighed.

"GIve it a rest, Rob, he'll be here soon," he appeased. Robin huffed at him.

"You haven't even told me who we're waiting for," he complained.

"What can I say," Cyborg answered, shrugging his shoulders. "He likes to make an entrance and asked to make the introduction himself. Trust me, though, he ain't dangerous. Well, not to us anyway..." he hinted, glowering at the miserable Control Freak. Robin stopped tapping and started pacing.

"He said he'd be here ten minutes ago," he grumbled. "I'll know the moment he arrives - I set up a sensor perimeter when you started work on the Mother Box."

"And that is why I'm late." Robin whipped around to see a man float into view. He wore a red and yellow costume with a full face mask and a green, high-collared cape. He didn't float under his own power, rather each foot was set on a flat, hovering disc. Robin checked his sensor readings through his communicator: it read all clear.

"How did you get in? I covered every point of entry!" he cried. The newcomer winked.

"All but one, though it took some time to find it," he said with a small hint of smugness. He stepped off the discs to the floor and walked towards the Titans. Cyborg chuckled.

"This is him, Robin," he confirmed. Robin watched him as he smiled and extended a friendly hand.

"Scott Free, at your service, though some know me as Mister Miracle, God of the Escape."

_**THE CAMPER RESIDENCE**_

Raven eyed her companion with confusion and, if she was honest, a little worry. Ever since they had exited their bed- _the Campers' bedroom_, he had been jumpy, skittish, fidgety and a few other synonyms besides. They had eaten their automatic breakfast with little conversation and things had reached a point where Raven of all people was planning to initiate a conversation with Beast Boy.

"So... what can we expect from this episode?" she asked. Beast Boy looked at her and then took a long look at the calendar on the wall. As the episodes had progressed, it had jumped forward a few days each time to suit and, for some reason, he found the date it showed to be very confusing.

"What? That makes no sense..." he muttered. Raven glanced between him and the calendar a few times.

"What doesn't make sense? Aside from everything else, that is," Raven asked. He looked back at her with confusion in his eyes.

"Yesterday was the last episode. The finale. And not just of a season but the whole show, it got cancelled after that. I expected us to either get spit back into the real world or just start the show from the beginning... but the calendar moved forward. I've never seen this episode," he explained. Raven listened with trepidation. Not knowing what would happen made her feel even worse about their situation. With another glance, she confirmed they were in another Saturday, so at least they probably wouldn't be separated. She turned back to Beast Boy, only to find him reticent again, looking away from her. She sighed in exasperation.

"Beast Boy, is something wrong?" she asked. He blanched as he faced her.

"W-what? What makes you say that?" he asked shakily.

"You've barely glanced at me all morning... and you've been too quiet even for _my_ liking!" she said. He looked at the floor and twiddled his thumbs.

"Sorry, Rae..." he mumbled. Raven sighed again.

"It's alright, Beast Boy. I know how you must feel," she said, gently. He looked up at her fearfully.

"You do?" he squeaked. Raven nodded.

"It's natural to feel embarrassed after yesterday... you should know there's no need. You had a _very_ stressful day and needed to express that," she said. He smiled awkwardly - she thought he was embarrassed about his crying on her shoulder! Well, let her keep thinking that.

"Thanks, Rae!" he said, trying to make himself seem more cheerful, though he was certain Raven's eyes hadn't twinkled like that before... unless he just hadn't noticed it.

Raven smiled back at the changeling as he thanked her, a warmth settling in her belly at the sight of his grin. For a moment she found her eyes lingering on him, thinking she was just checking he was definitely alright. Did his eyes always sparkle like that?

_**CONTROL FREAK'S LAIR**_

"God of the Escape?" Robin asked. Scott Free nodded - he always had to explain this part.

"You've heard of the New Gods of New Genesis? Of Highfather?" he asked. Robin's expression showed his comprehension.

"Yeah. Yeah, they're the enemies of Apokolips, right?" he asked. Scott nodded again.

"That's right. Well, I'm one of them, a son of Highfather, though I was "raised" on Apokolips," he said. Robin's eyes widened beneath his mask and Starfire wrapped her arms around herself.

"I have heard many stories of the planet Apokolips and the cruel Darkseid..." she said, shuddering. Scott looked at her.

"They're all true, every bad thing you hear about the place. Anyway, I was the first to escape the pits of Apokolips, though it took years of trial and planning, hence 'God of the Escape'. I have a feeling, though, that you're less interested in my adventures and more interested in this." As he spoke, he pulled from a pouch a small box with ribbons of light moving across the surface and, listening closely, you could hear a faint pinging sound.

"What is it?" Robin asked.

"This is a _real_ Mother Box. We're going to try and have a conversation with the one you found here."

_**THE CAMPER RESIDENCE**_

Beast Boy jumped as the phone rang. Suddenly, Raven found herself knitting and Beast Boy had a paper in his hand as they followed the script. There came some alllegedly humorous talk about who should answer which "Tom" lost. He answered the phone and his content expression fell. He slowly put the phone down and looked toward "Lucy".

"I lost my job," he said. With that said, they both felt the weight vanish from their minds: the scene had ended. Raven frowned at Beast Boy, though - he still looked upset.

"Why so glum? You didn't really lose your job," she stated. He nodded distractedly and took a deep breath.

"I know what episode we're in," he muttered.

"You do? I thought you hadn't seen it," she inquired.

"I haven't. This episode was never aired, Control Freak must have some special edition box set," he explained. Raven shrugged and sat back, though he immediately sat upright again.

"Wait. Wait. You said they cut an episode for- Is this that episode?" she asked.

"Yup," he answered nervously.

"The one where they... they..." she stammered.

"Y-yeah," he mumbled, his eyes darting around, looking anywhere but at Raven.

"Where they... they... we... we..." Raven continued.

"Mm-hmm," Beast Boy agreed, trying to sink into his seat. "The one where we k-k-k-k-k-"

"Kiss."

**Whoop, and up goes the tension. Scott Free better hurry things up! Sorry this took so long, I've been struggling with this story for some reason. I actually think this bit isn't that good but I needed to get it out there. Maybe I'll try and tidy it up in the future. Still, got the ball rolling again. Enjoy!**

**-Jack**


	7. Hidden Extra

**Behind The Scenes 7 - Hidden Extra**

**Sorry for the delay, I'm still struggling with this one. I have the broad strokes in my head but fleshing it out is the challenge. D'oh!**

Scott Free looked pained as his Mother Box _ping_ed at Control Freak's computer, the conversation only he could hear clearly troubling him. He had glanced at Control Freak with distaste on a few occasions, all of which made the villain more nervous. After several more minutes, he stepped back and faced the waiting TItans.

"Good news and bad," he said. "Good news: my Mother Box has managed to establish communication with yours. Bad news: this home-made Mother Box is badly traumatised and struggling to understand what we want it to do."

"Traumatised?" Robin asked, eyes wide. Scott nodded solemnly.

"The Mother Box is a living entity. Imagine having your mind locked up in a cage and having nothing to occupy yourself with but basic arithmetic. The calculations it's been doing are incredibly basic by Mother Box reckoning and its had nothing else to do. Your earth materials make it unable to transfigure or use a boomtube or communicate off-world or even see the world around it. It's like sensory deprivation and that's all it has ever known! We need to help it release your friends and then find a way to get it out of here - Mother Boxes are not meant to be rooted in one place."

"Can you and your Mother Box guide it?" Starfire asked. Scott shook his head.

"No. They can communicate but not truly interface. We would need an adaptive, autonomous, thinking computer made from similar components and materials," he explained. Robin growled.

"An adaptive, autonomous computer... Cyborg? Do you know of anything like that?" he asked. Cyborg looked at his leader and nodded with reluctance.

"Only one," he said, tapping his head. "Me."

_**THE CAMPER RESIDENCE**_

To say the silence in the room was heavy would have been a massive understatement. The two teenagers stared at the floor and contnued to do so for another ten minutes. Finally, with eyes clamped shut, Raven murmured something, too quiet to understand.

"Um... what was that, Rae?" Beast Boy asked, only glancing at her for a moment.

"I won't blame you. When it happens, I won't blame you." Silence again.

"You're damn right you won't blame me, cos it's not gonna happen in the first place!" he cried, angrily. Raven looked up at him with a start.

"Beast Boy... you know we can't control ourselves-"

"Maybe we just aren't trying hard enough. I don't care how much it hurts, it isn't happening!" he yelled, standing up and clenching his fists. Raven was genuinely surprised at how angry he was. "I will not kiss you." Raven hadn't expected him to be happy at the idea but was a little miffed he was so upset at even the notion of sharing a kiss with her.

"Gee, don't spare my feelings or anything," she drawled, folding her arms. He turned to face her with confusion in his eyes.

"What?" he asked.

"I know you don't want to kiss me but you don't have to make it sound so disastrous," she said, curtly. He shook his head and sat near her, even as she turned away from him.

"No, Rae... that's not it. I won't kiss you because _you_ don't want to," he explained, more quietly now. Raven slowly faced him, seeing the conflict in his eyes.

"I will _not_ kiss you against your will, mind control or not. I won't do it. I won't let it happen."

"Beast Boy, it isn't such a big deal. It isn't worth all that pain," Raven countered. Beast Boy's eyes grew hard and he stared her down.

"It is a big deal. It _is_ worth that pain and any pain they can dish out. I... I promised!" he said. Raven shook her head, needing to understand.

"Promised? Promised what?" she asked, impatiently.

"You've always had people deciding for you, Rae. Manipulating you. The prophecy, Malchior, even the monks who trained you, who decided you weren't allowed to feel or even know your mom. I know it's dumb but after the portal thing I promised that, if I could help it, I wouldn't let anyone do that again. That includes me," he explained, his anger exhausted. Raven looked at him with pity and no small amount of gratitude.

"I don't recall you making this promise to me," she prodded. Her green friend finally smiled a sheepish, sad smile.

"I guess I kept it to myself," he murmured. Raven laid her hand on his.

"I'm grateful, Beast Boy... and I understand, I really do. But this will hurt me too. If we can't resist, if we can't deviate from our script, I need you to know I won't blame you and I hope you won't blame me." Beast Boy locked eyes with her, his hand turning to clasp hers.

"Of course I won't. Never!" he said, firmly. Raven smiled and nodded. "I wonder if the Campers have any breath mints..." he wondered out loud. Raven choked and stared at him with wide eyes, though a tiny smile betrayed her entertainment, eliciting a shrug from the changeling. "Might as well make the best of it," he joked.

_**CONTROL FREAK'S LAIR**_

A bundle of cables, quickly constructed by Scott Free's Mother Box from Control Freak's spare parts, ran from the impaired Mother Box to the back of Cyborg's skull. He sat on a stool, hands resting on his knees and clearly nervous about what he was about to attempt.

"You sure about this, Cyborg?" Robin asked. Cyborg nodded without hesitation.

"Gotta do it, man. I gotta get them out," he stated with conviction. Robin set his jaw and rested his hand on Cyborg's shoulder. Starfire alighted on his other side, her smile dimmed but still radiant.

"You shall prevail, Cyborg. You shall rescue our friends and we shall go home," she said with a smile. Scott Free stepped toward them.

"Mother Box says we're as ready as we'll ever be. Cyborg: you'll still be aware of your surroundings and of us, it'll be like monitoring a camera or watching a movie from the corner of your eye. Tell us what you experience and I'll try to guide you... also, this Mother Box has no interface experience and might beam its thoughts a little "loud". We can try and dampen that if it happens. Ready to go?" he asked. Cyborg took a deep breath... and nodded. Scott flipped the switch.

_**THE CAMPER RESIDENCE**_

"So why was this episode cancelled? I can't believe one kiss would be so troublesome, even for a show as clean-cut as this one," Raven asked.

"It wasn't the kiss, it was the whole episode. They knew they were getting cancelled and took a shot at writing something a little more relevant - in this case, Tom losing his job and how they react. Needless to say, it didn't make it past the censors," he explained. Suddenly, the pair of them felt the weight and moved to the kitchen, pouring and sipping cups of coffee. The conversation was forced and awkward, until Beast Boy's character broke down and started railing against his former employers, doubting his value as a man if he couldn't provide for his wife, that sort of thing. Raven let herself say the words without really thinking about it: Beast Boy had explained the dreaded kiss wouldn't come until the very end of the episode. The dialogue was hammy and melodramatic, so Raven supposed it was no great loss it didn't get aired, even if she felt for the writers frustrated desire to express themselves a little. Suddenly, the weight vanished and Beast Boy, who had been crouched on the floor, leapt to his feet with an expression of pain.

"Beast Boy?! What is it?"

"BLLEEUUUGHH! I _hate_ coffee and I'm sick of this stupid show forcing it down my neck!" he cried, pouting and growling as he poured himself a glass of water and chugged it. Raven smirked and shook her head at him, recalling a time when his behaviour gave rise to anger in her... now it just seemed to bring her amusement. She stepped closer and patted him on the head.

"There there, once we get out you can punch Control Freak in the face an extra time," she said. He turned, his eyes large and sad and his pout exaggerated.

"You promise?" he sniffled. Raven nodded. "Okay..." he muttered.

_**CONTROL FREAK'S LAIR**_

"Okay, this is weird," Cyborg said, uncertainly.

"Weird how. Be precise," Scott instructed.

"It's like knowing there's a video on but it's blank. There's nothing to see," Cyborg tried.

"Well, it _can't_ see. Still, it must be receiving visual data from the simulation... try asking it about your friends."

"How?"

"Picture them in your own mind. Try and find out how they got in there," Scott said. There was a long pause as the others waited for Cyborg.

"Whoa... okay. Okay, I think I got it. There was a remote hard-wired to the Mother Box... it's not connected right now," he said. Immediately, Starfire marched to Control Freak and hauled him up by his collar, lifting him from the floor and menacing him with glowing, green eyes.

"Where?" was all she said. Wisely, he pointed to a lockbox in the corner. Starfire dropped Control Freak carelessly and followed as Robin moved to the box. In ahort order, he had defeated the lock and held the remote in his hands. With a little more instruction from the Mother Box, Scott was able to reconnect it. Cyborg smiled.

"That's it, that's the one! Now I'll see if we can get it yo reverse the process... oh no."

"What?" Robin asked.

"It won't let them go... it says the simulation is the only thing it has and won't give it up. It won't spit 'em out even when the show ends," he said with rising panic.

_**THE CAMPER RESIDENCE**_

This was it. The pair of them knew it. They stood in the center of the living room, facing each other and going by the script. Their expressions were sad and, slowly, they stepped into each other's arms. They held each other tightly for a long time and then drew back slightly, looking into each other's eyes. Then they froze. Beast Boy and Raven grimaced as they resisted the weight, the script in their minds. The dull ache appeared and prodded them. They ignored it. The weight grew heavier and the dull ache turned into a sharper, hotter pain in the back of their heads and still they ignored it. Beast Boy had his eyes squeezed shut, slowly and stiffly shaking his head. Raven's eyes were closed tightly, tears of strain and effort falling. Beast Boy lost his control for a moment, jerking closer before catching himself again, shortly followed by Raven doing the same. She jerked forward again, aware now that she had lost her fight and was merely waiting for Beast Boy. The pain vanished and she opened her eyes to see him still struggling. Her heart sank as she saw him shed tears of his own, his breathing sharp and short, hissing through his clenched teeth. She couldn't let him suffer like that, not for her.

"It's okay, Beast Boy," she whispered.

"Nnn... nno," he whispered back, harshly.

"Beast Boy..."

"Nnno. N-nev... never." She stared at him as he fought, as he struggled for her, filled with pity and more than a little admiration. His face, already twisted in pain and anger, shifted as the pain grew worse... he began to whimper.

"Nnngg... Aaannngghhh... Hsssssss! Nggh! NNG! NnnnNNNGGHHRAAAAAAAAA-"

"_Beast Boy_!" Raven cried. With a last sob, his resolve finally crumbled and he moved closer...

_**CONTROL FREAK'S LAIR**_

"Raven! Beast Boy!" Starfire cried, joyfully. The pair of young and disoriented heroes sat sprawled on the floor, staring up at their ecstatic friend.

"Star?" Beast Boy said, uncertainly. "Robin? Cy? _CY_?!" he exclaimed, finally absorbing the sight of his friend connected up to Control Freak's freaky looking computer.

"It's a long story, B," he said with a broad smile. Robin stepped closer.

"How did you get it to give them up?" he asked quietly, watching as Starfire helped her friends to their feet.

"I let it see through my eyes, promised it we'd get it out of here, just like Scott's Mother Box. I'm letting it see a couple of memories as well just to keep it sweet before Scott starts to disconnect and remove it." The pair continued to talk quietly as Raven eyed Control Freak with anger and disappointment: he was already subdued, so Robin would likely frown on she or Beast Boy punching him in the face. Then, with a sudden cry of victory, Control Freak leapt to his feet and made a run for the exit.

"Oh, thank Azar," Raven muttered, Beast Boy grinning beside her. Control Freak skidded to a halt as a green swift darted in front of him and became a green teenager, who immediately socked him in the jaw, spinning him around to face Raven, who gave him an impressive right cross. As he spun again, Beast Boy knocked him down with a straight shot to the nose.

"That was for the coffee, ya stupid asshead!"

**And that's it for this long overdue instalment - many apologies. There is more to come and I'm hoping to have an easier time now that the writing-in-two-separate-locations bit is over. Enjoy!**

**-Jack**


	8. Meet the Cast

**Behind the Scenes 8 - Meet the Cast**

**So Beast Boy and Raven are freed from their sitcom prison... but the story doesn't end there.**

In the wee hours of the morning, a lone vehicle moved along the roads of the sleeping Jump City. It was white with gleaming blue lights and contained a quintet of extraordinary people: the Titans. Cyborg, as always, sat at the wheel, even though Robin had offered, given his ordeal with Control Freak's Mother Box. Speaking of Robin, he sat in the front passenger seat, tired but still awake, satisfied at the return of their two missing comrades, who sat in the back: Beast Boy in the middle and Raven on the right. The fifth Titan, Starfire, sat to Beast Boy's left and watched the pair of them with a bright grin.

"If I may say so, you looked the dapper in your suit, Beast Boy," she commented easily. The two teens beside her gave each other a wide-eyed look and then turned to face the alien. "And you looked most elegant in those dresses, Raven."

"You... saw us?" Raven asked. Starfire nodded cheerily.

"Indeed. It was as if we were watching the TV show!" she replied. Raven and Beast Boy sighed, though his was louder and more expressive.

"So you didn't see the inbetween... wait. Did you... did you see the part just before we got out?" Beast Boy asked. Starfire shook her head solemnly.

"I did not. At that point my attention was focused on Cyborg's intercourse with an alien computer." Beast Boy snickered at her unwitting innuendo.

"Uh, Star? You mind rephrasing that?" Cyborg called back. Starfire blinked in confusion.

"Very well. I was focused solely on Cyborg's _negotiation_ with an alien computer," she tried, glancing at Cyborg to see if it would do. He smiled at her in the mirror. "Why? Did we miss something?" Raven and Beast Boy glanced at each other, making a silent agreement. Raven smiled at Starfire.

"Not a thing, Star. Not a thing."

_**TOWER COMMON ROOM**_

Raven stepped through the doors and stopped. With a tiny smile, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, relishing the imperceptible scent of the Tower. Her home. At the sound of Beast Boy's much more vocal sigh, she opened her eyes again and saw him stretching out on the sofa, visibly as glad to be home as she was. She moved to the kitchen, deciding she disliked coffee almost as much as Beast Boy did and having a long overdue cup of tea. She filled her diffuser with the leaves as she boiled the water, the sounds and smells all familiar and comfortable. She poured the water over the diffuser and watched the colour spread and fill her cup. She realised she was genuinely excited about the tea, momentarily wondering if she had developed a dependency. She sipped and sighed and leaned back against the counter, letting the heat seep through the cup into her hands. It was good to be home.

"So what was it like being stuck in a TV show?" Robin asked. Raven looked around and saw him addressing his question to Beast Boy. Indecision flitted across Raven's mind: they hadn't had time to discuss what had happened to them in there. Much of it had been quite personal and she was unsure how much of it she wanted the others to know.

"Crazy, man. We would just be standing around when we got his ache in our heads that made us act out the scenes when it was time. Then the words just came out of my mouth without me having to think about it," Beast Boy explained. Robin gave him a curious look.

"When it was time? You weren't just acting out the show?" he asked. Beast Boy shook his head.

"Nah, dude. It was like we were in their world, so time passed for us like it would for the characters. We were free to do whatever between scenes up to a point, but there wasn't anything outside the house."

"How long were you in there?" Robin asked quietly.

"Few days," Beast Boy answered matter-of-factly. "How long do _you_ think we were in there?"

"Just a few hours..." Robin replied. Everyone was suddenly very quiet.

"Whoa..." Beast Boy whispered. Sensing the urgent need for a subject change, Beast Boy leapt to his feet. "And I didn't have tofu the entire time! Time to whip up some grub... any other takers?" Everyone shook their heads politely. He gave Raven a bright grin as she stepped aside and made her way to the couch with the others. Cyborg sidled up next to her and stage-whispered comically while Starfire giggled.

"You spent three whole days with BB and didn't turn him inside out?" he said. Raven gave him a lazy glare.

"We're not like that anymore, Beast Boy and I. You know that," she said, a little force behind her words. "It's academic anyway: neither of us had our powers." Cyborg backed away, his hands raised in surrender.

"Okay, okay... but BB can be pretty intense and you sometimes have issues with said intensity," he tried. Raven grumbled. She knew that the relationship between her and Beast Boy had been tumultuous, especially in the beginning, but they had found stability in their friendship. She decided, in the face of Cyborg's gentle mockery, that her friend had earned a little praise.

"Actually, he took the lead in there. He had seen the show and made sure I knew what to expect, as well as working out what was going on with us and our following the script." She had worked it out too but decided not to mention it. Robin looked approvingly in Beast Boy's direction as the changeling sang excerpts from several different songs, never settling on one for more than a few lines.

"Is that right... ," he muttered before returning his attention to Raven. "This might sound dumb but... how are you?" he said uncertainly. Raven raised a brow. Starfire landed beside her and laid a hand on Raven's shoulder.

"We witnessed Trigon's appearance," she said. Raven clenched her jaw at his name. Then, just as quickly, she relaxed as the image of him in a sweater vest returned to her. To the surprise of the others, her hand moved to her mouth as she stifled a giggle.

"Well, his "appearance" was honestly one of the funniest things I've ever seen. It certainly took him down a notch in my eyes. I was even almost grateful to Control Freak for it, though that sentiment was rather short-lived," she said, her expression glad and satisfied with a subtle hint of sadism.

"So you're really okay with it?" Cyborg checked. Raven nodded, taking another sip.

"I am. I admit I was concerned at first I was concerned, given the upset caused by Beast Boy's parents' cameo... Azar, I shouldn't have said that," she muttered, closing her eyes in resignation.

"BB was upset?" Cyborg asked, worry creeping into his voice. Raven gave him a chastising look.

"Of course he was. _Of course he was_!" she chided, feeling Cyborg should have realised as much on his own. Cyborg gave her a glare to rival her own.

"Don't think I didn't worry about him," he said icily. "I was just hoping he was okay with it." He looked over Raven's shoulder at the dancing changeling. Raven's expression relaxed.

"I'm sorry, Cyborg. I suppose the last few days have made me a little protective of him," she said. Cyborg's frown melted into a smirk.

"Already forgiven, Rae-Rae," he said. Satisfied, Raven took another sip.

"If you decide you need to speak to him about it, make sure it's one-on-one," she advised, putting a commanding weight into her words. Cyborg nodded, then pursed his lips and gave her a strange look. She understood: Beast Boy was returning.

"What are we talking about?" Beast Boy said around a mouthful of food, eliciting a look of mild distaste from Raven which, in turn, caused him to smile sheepishly.

"I was explaining my auto-pilot kitchen adventures," Raven lied smoothly. The others had no idea what she meant but went along with it when Beast Boy laughed enthusiastically.

"Oh yeah! Man, it was totally crazy: she would be talking to me and not even paying attention to what she was doing but her hands would keep chopping and peeling and cooking and stuff. The food was good, too! Still, I'm glad I got a chance to express myself to Control Freak for making me eat meat, even if it was fake."

"But I did not hear you speak to the Control Freak," Starfire wondered. Beast Boy shrugged.

"I punched him in the face," he said.

""Seems like a pretty clear expression to me," Raven said, smirking into her tea cup. Starfire giggled as understanding filled her eyes. The pair of them spent the next hour or so telling the others of their time in the simulation, though they deliberately glossed over some events and details, including the impact of Beast Boy's parents' appearance. Given the late (early?) hour, Robin eventually called time and decided it was bedtime, even promising to cancel morning training so everyone could sleep in if they pleased. As one, the group of five rose and made their way to their rooms. That wasn't the end of the night, however. As Beast Boy entered his room, someone rapped their fist lightly on the door frame, even vocalising it.

"Knock knock," said the guest, quietly. Beast Boy turned and gave them a confused look.

"Robin? What is it?" he asked. Robin stepped inside and leaned against the wall, closing the door as he did.

"I saw your parents in there," he said simply. There was no missing the thick gulp Beast Boy took, or the visible paling of his face.

"Uh... yeah, it was pretty crazy," Beast Boy muttered. Robin watched him patiently, speaking after what felt like a long silence.

"If you need to talk about it, then talk about it. With me, Cyborg, Raven, Starfire... your adoptive parents maybe? Don't try and pretend it didn't happen or that you're okay with it," he said firmly but not unkindly. Beast Boy looked away.

"What makes you think it was so bad?" he mumbled. Robin stepped away from the wall and stood near Beast Boy, clapping his hand in his shoulder.

"If I saw someone using my parents like puppets, I know how I'd feel," Robin said. Beast Boy knew then it was useless to deny how affected he had been by it. He turned to face Robin, trying to resist the stinging in his eyes.

"It's just been so long, y'know? The picture I have in my head... it was getting more and more vague, man. I was starting to forget. And then there they were, but not them. It freaked me the hell out." Beast Boy sat heavily on his bed as he confessed, pushing the heels of his palms in his eyes. Robin sat next to him.

"I get it. I really do. I got more time with my parents than you... but I understand," he said. Beast Boy looked at him glumly, nodding his acknowledgement. Robin's hand reached around Beast Boy's shoulder and pulled him a little closer in an affectionate but, it must be said, rather awkwardly masculine hug. Still, Beast Boy smiled at the sentiment, remembering a time when Robin had been one if his idols, before they had even met. Now he was one of his closest friends. Life was weird that way sometimes. Robin stood and headed for the door. "It's good to have you back, Beast Boy," he said before leaving for his own bed.

An hour later, Beast Boy stared up at the ceiling. Well... the bottom of the upper bunk anyway. He was definitely tired but couldn't seem to get to sleep. He counted sheep, tried to visualise paint drying, replayed a particularly boring speech Robin had given last year... nothing worked. He thought about getting up for a glass of warm milk or something, or watching TV til he fell asleep in the couch. He wondered, idly, if the experience in Control Freak's simulation had somehow broken his brain and he would never sleep again. Still, he kept coming back to what he knew was wrong: he was alone. Having Raven with him over the past few days had taken on great importance given their predicament at the time and now he felt strangely unsettled without her there. He was sure he was alone in this. He was _certain_ he was alone in this. So going to Raven was out of the question and that was that.

Or was it?

What if he just went to her room and checked on her. Morph into a spider, creep inside, see Raven, creep outside, go to bed and go to sleep.

"Nah... too creepy," he whispered to himself, not even realising the pun in his fatigue. But what if he didn't go inside? He could just go down the hall and listen. Press his ear against the door and maybe hear her breathe or something, just to check she was there and okay.

"Naaaaaaaahhh..."

A few minutes later, Beast Boy found himself tip-toeing down the hallway toward Raven's room. Inwardly, he berated himself for his foolishness while. Outwardly, he kept walking. He was barely a few yards from Raven's door when, to his horror, her door opened and the girl herself stepped out in front of him. She wore a pair of grey sweats and an oversized T-shirt she had been given by Cyborg years ago. Her hair was a mess and her eyes, red with tiredness and wide with surprise. In that one, unguarded moment, Beast Boy looked at her and saw the most beautiful sight he had ever beheld.

_**RAVEN'S ROOM - A FEW MINUTES EARLIER**_

Raven stared at her ceiling. Sleep had not come to her tonight and, though she had come up with many possible (but improbable) explanations, including one in which her brain had been damaged by Control Freak's apparatus so that she would never know sleep again, eventually she had to face the truth: she couldn't sleep because Beast Boy wasn't there. It seemed both ridiculous and obvious, that somehow, in the last few days, she had learned to depend on the shapeshifter, expect him to be there and, now that he wasn't, she couldn't quite relax. She wondered if she could perhaps portal into his room and check on him before returning to her room and finally going to sleep. She shook her head.

"No. This is ridiculous, he's just down the hall. Go. To. Sleep." What if she didn't go inside, just went to his door and checked his aura or something. That might work. "No," she told herself, rolling over and pulling her sheets up to her chin, her eyes squeezed shut.

Minuted later, Raven found herself at her door, shaking her head ruefully at her own foolishness. She stepped into the hallway, turned... and there he was, looking as much like a deer in the headlights as he could without actually turning into one. Wide-eyed in her own surprise, a thought sprang to life unchecked by Raven's will: had Beast Boy always been this beautiful?

**Whoa! Night-time hijinks abound! So the pair of them are now definitely seeing something in each other. But what will they do with this knowledge, and the apparent fact that they can't even sleep without the other there? We'll find out and we'll do it together... though I'll probably do most of it lol **

**Enjoy!**

**-Jack**


	9. Plot Twist

**Behind the Scenes 9 - Plot Twist**

**I am sorry it took me so long to get round to this. I have no excuse lol. Anyway, on with the show!**

For a solid ten seconds (it's longer than it sounds) the pair stood and stared dumbly at each other, green eyes meeting indigo in mutual surprise. Neither struggled for words, both of their minds blank aside from the bizarre feeling that they had been caught doing something they shouldn't. After those ten seconds, other thoughts started to run through them, questions and confusion. For once, Beast Boy was quickest to recover his wits.

"Uh... couldn't sleep, right?" he asked, plainly. Raven, shaken from her stupor, crossed her arms and looked at the wall, her cheeks slightly pink.

"R-right," she stammered, simultaneously cursing herself for doing so. She didn't stammer: she was _Raven_.

"Me too. Either. Me either," Beast Boy dithered, just about resisting the urge to facepalm. The silence returned, this time with the pair of them looking at anything _but_ each other, fidgety and restless. Finally, Raven uncrossed her arms and let out an impatient grumble.

"This is ridiculous. We both know why we're still awake, we both know we were on our way to do the same thing... You can't sleep on your own, can you?" she said, more a statement than a true question. Beast Boy shook his head.

"No... I thought if I checked on you, maybe I could," he mumbled, still embarrassed.

"As did I. And now we have checked on each other," she said. Beast Boy nodded, now looking back at her again.

"Yeah... I guess I'll head back to bed, then. Uh... g'night, Rae," he said with a smile. Raven nodded politely with a tiny smile of her own.

"Goodnight, Beast Boy," she said before turning and disappearing into the darkness of her room, quickly hidden in turn by her door. Outwardly cheerful, Beast Boy headed back to his room, dutifully ignoring the twinge of disappointment in his gut. He stepped through the still open door, shut it behind him, and crawled into his cooling bed. He pulled the blankets tight around his shoulders and rolled over on one side, issuing a sigh of contentment as he closed his eyes and began to slowly, slowly drift off... to complete and unabating wakefulness. He huffed and lay on his back, his fists thumping down either side of him as he stared up at the upper bunk, wishing for sleep to take him. Sleep decided to leave him well alone and, after another half hour, he was starting to feel genuinely upset: he was so _tired_. Why wouldn't his eyes even stay shut? He was desperate. Maybe he could go talk to Raven again. Was she even still awake? If he woke her up after she had so much trouble herself, there would be hell to pay, no pun intended. What to do, what to do, what-

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

His train of thought derailed. He rose and moved to the door, slapping at the open button.

"Raven?" he said. Indeed, there she was, at his door. She blushed and stepped past him into his room.

"Don't make a big deal of this. You have a spare bunk and I don't," she explained, hurriedly. He watched as she floated up to the level of the upper bunk and examined the bedding: it was clean enough but it had sat undisturbed for a while. With a thought, the thin layer of dust laying on it gathered itself into a floating blob before Raven's eyes and vanished. She pulled back the now immaculate sheets and climbed in. She looked down at Beast Boy, mouth still gaping. "Goodnight, Beast Boy," she said again, a little heat in her voice, a mix of irritation, fatigue and mild embarrassment. He shook himself and grinned up at her, warmly, anxious to make their impromptu sleepover as relaxed as possible.

"G'night, Rae," he answered. He climbed into bed and was asleep in minutes...

Beast Boy sat at the breakfast bar in his kitchen, still in his sleepwear, a white vest and white and blue striped pajama bottoms. He sipped coffee and smiled and winked at his companion who sat opposite: Raven. Peculiarly, she wore exactly the same as he did. Weird. They finished their coffee at the same time, stood up in unison, and in perfect synchronicity, spoke to each other.

"Time for work!" they both said. They started to walk to the front door, Beast Boy glancing down and realising he was wearing a suit. He looked at Raven: she wore an identical suit, though tailored for her physique. His thoughts lingered for a moment on her and how she looked amazing even in traditionally masculine clothes. He shook his head and opened the door. On the other side was the common room, and he saw they were now wearing their Titan uniforms. The lights flashed red and Raven sighed and smiled at him.

"Oh well... the sooner we start, the sooner we can get home," she said. He grinned up at her, already looking forward to spending the evening with his beautiful wife. Raven's smile dropped and her eyes widened.

"Oh! Sorry, Beast Boy, I didn't mean to wake you." Beast Boy looked around: he was in his bedroom in the Tower, sat upright in his bed and staring at Raven. That's right, she had spent the night here... and then he had dreamed of her. He shook his head, trying to clear it of the confusing dream, and glanced at his clock. It read 6am.

"Whoa! Something wake you up?" he asked, blinking sleepily. Raven smirked at him.

"No, this is when I usually wake up, Beast Boy," she said. He flopped back down into his bed.

"But we were awake so late!" he whined. Raven shrugged.

"Clearly my routine is too deeply entrenched in my mind. It's okay, I generally need less sleep than most humans anyway. Thank you for... for letting me stay," she said, her voice small.

"Don't worry about it. Not like I wasn't getting anything out of it," he answered, his arm slung across his eyes. Raven smiled again and let herself out. He moved his arm and looked at the door as it closed, smiling warmly at the memory of Raven in her pajamas. Raven was a guarded person, to say the least, and he was pleased he was one of the few allowed to see her so... well, _un_guarded. He turned on his side, away from the door, and let his eyes close as he tried to sink back into sleep. He failed. "Oh, you gotta be kiddin' me!" he grumbled. After last night and with his mind still befuddled by sleep, he lurched out of bed, dragging a blanket with him across the floor, grumbling again when it got stuck in his door as he left his room. He stumbled down the corridor, his eyes opening every few steps to make sure he was still heading in the right direction. The double doors opened and he entered the common room - sure enough, Raven hovered in front of the window, not yet meditating but first having a cup of tea. She turned and blinked as the sleepy Beast Boy lurched towards her. Without a word, he collapsed face-first on the couch and pulled the blanket over himself, including his head.

"Beast Boy?" Raven muttered. From within the lump, a muffled voice could be heard.

"Couldn't sleep," he mumbled. Raven shook her head as her companion, apparently, fell back to sleep. Not knowing what else to do, she turned back to the window, finished her tea, and then began her meditation. The world around her fell away, her consciousness becoming closer to the universe around her. The vastness of existence swallowed her up and the cosmos spun in the palm of her hand. She muttered her mantra and the two contradictory sensations were moved aside, there was now nothing but Raven and the warm, calm-

*THUD*

Raven's eyes snapped open and the Universe, the World and the Tower all crashed back into place. She spun around, already aiming a glare at the sound. She paused at the sight: Beast Boy had fallen to the floor... mostly. His head was on the floor as were his shoulder, his face aimed at the ceiling. His hips were on the edge of the couch and his legs were still seated, tangled in his blanket. Despite it all, he was still sound asleep and smiling softly.

"Pff... Snrk... Heh," Raven squeaked, trying valiantly to hold it all in. For the first time she failed and _laughed_. She fell back to earth with a slight bump as she did, and it only made her laugh more, though she managed to remain quiet enough for Beast Boy to slumber on. When finally she stopped, she opened her eyes and looked with rare fondness at the changeling. With a sigh, she stood and went to his side, prodding his cheek with her finger. He squirmed and shifted.

"Nnng... hide an' seek with Batman? No way..." he mumbled, causing Raven to snigger again. She stood and tapped his shoulder with her foot.

"Come on, wake up," she muttered. His eyes flickered and opened and he blinked up at her. His mouth stretched into a wide grin at the sight of her.

"Hiya, Rae-Rae," he said. Raven rolled her eyes at him, though she still smiled briefly.

"Get up before you hurt yourself," she suggested, hands on hips. Finally realising his situation, Beast Boy struggled to his feet and yawned widely. Raven grimaced and wrinkled her nose at the display, though Beast Boy did have the decency to flush a little in embarrassment.

"Oh... sorry, Rae. I guess part of me is used to being on my own when I wake up," he said. Raven folded her arms as her expression relaxed.

"Apology accepted. It's going to be inconvenient to say the least if we can't sleep while separated... we-" At that point, Raven had glanced to her left. How she hadn't noticed, she couldn't guess, but there stood Robin, arms folded and a stern look on his face. There was a long moment of silence, all of them stood frozen. Finally, Robin spoke.

"So... anything you two need to tell me?"

**Whoops! They couldn't even keep that under wraps for a single day, the losers! Anyway, the slightly embarrassing cat is out of the proverbial bag, what shall they do next?**

**-Jack**


	10. Big Reveal

**Behind The Scenes 10 - Big Reveal**

**Far too long between updates, I know. Apologies.**

Robin stood in front of the couch, arms folded across his chest, watching the pair sat on the sofa in front of him and trying to appear upset but not angry, just enough to let them know he was on their side but that he expected them to be remorseful.

No such luck.

Beast Boy was grumpy and still sleepy, obviously tempted to sink back into slumber while Raven was beside him. Speaking of Raven, she sat unperturbed and unruffled by Robin's glare, only returning his stare impassively when his eyes turned toward her. He realised with a start that she only looked back at him when he looked at her, even though his eyes were concealed and he hadn't moved his head. He shook it off, knowing she was making a point of it to rattle him a little. Eventually, Starfire and Cyborg arrived after receiving a call from Robin. Starfire was as alert and chipper as ever, though Cyborg seemed a little put out, grumbling that he would have to finish up his interrupted charge later in the day. They sat on either side of Beast Boy and Raven (Cyborg on Raven's side) and Robin arched an eyebrow at them.

"Well? Let's hear it."

Ten minutes later, the pair had related their sleeping problems of the previous night, handily leaving out the account of their non-verbal staring in the corridor. They seemed annoyed but not worried while Starfire was sympathetic and Cyborg was rather tickled by the whole thing. His imminent joke about a Titan sleepover was interrupted by Robin, who cleared his throat and silenced all other conversation.

"You might be right about this being a trust issue, though you should still have asked for help with that, but it-"

"It only happened last night, dude, what do you want from us?!" Beast Boy grumbled. Robin responded only by narrowing his eyes. Beast Boy lowered his head. "Uh... sorry. Bit cranky, I guess."

"As I was saying... You might be right but you might be wrong. You told us the simulation compelled you to fall asleep together. What if this is related somehow?" Beast Boy and Raven glanced at each other, a little embarrassed they hadn't though of it. Or had it been simply more reasonable for them to believe they merely needed each other?

"So... how can we be sure?" Raven said. Robin's expression softened.

"Cyborg, can you contact Mr Miracle? Maybe he can talk to Control Freak's Mother Box for us," Robin said. Cyborg immediately opened up his control panel and began tapping away.

"I'll leave him a message but there's no knowing when he'll check while he's focused on the Mother Box," Cyborg explained. Robin nodded.

"Well... I do have one other idea..." he said uncertainly. Raven narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion.

"Well? What is it?" Beast Boy insisted. Robin managed to look regretful and entertained at the same time.

"Um... a sleepover."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Huh?" Beast Boy squeaked.

"A sleepover. We need to know if you need each other to sleep or if you just aren't ready to sleep alone, so we split you up. Beast Boy, Cyborg and I can crash in here tonight. Starfire can spend the night on Raven's floor," he said. Cyborg nodded - that was actually a decent idea.

"Oh! A slumber party!" Starfire sang, floating into the air. "We shall play games and talk about boys and paint our extremities and stay awake watching movies and singing and-"

"Star!" Robin interrupted. "Star, the whole point is to try and let Raven sleep. You can have your slumber party another time," he said without really thinking, though he had the sense to shrink under Raven's furious gaze after he unwittingly promised Starfire a slumber party with her. In her room! He backed away, hands raised just as Cyborg piped up.

"Okay, message is sent. See what happens, I guess," he said. Not a great deal, as it turned out: the say was uneventful. Robin even cancelled training in favour of quizzing Raven and Beast Boy about their time in Control Freak's simulation. Again and again he came back to the invisible force, the pressure, that manipulated their actions, especially the way it caused them to fall asleep together. Unfortunately and quite naturally, the pair could tell little about that time. The day drew to a close and still the team hadn't heard back from Mr Miracle so, accompanied by Raven's grumbling, the Titans began to prepare themselves for bed. Three sleeping bags were brought to the common room for the boys - Cyborg had no need of one but was adamant on joining in. Starfire unrolled her own magnificently pink sleeping bag in Raven's room, unaffected by its jarring clash with its surroundings. All five Titans returned to the common room for a quick supper before splitting up again and retiring to their beds for the night. Beast Boy found his gaze lingering on Raven's back as she left with Starfire, curiously disturbed by her absence. He gulped when Raven looked back at him over her shoulder... she gave him an uncertain smile and disappeared behind the double doors.

The night was relaxed. Cyborg, for once deciding Beast Boy had enough to deal with, instead focused on teasing Robin about his relationship with Starfire. Soon enough, the teasing stopped as both partipiants fell asleep. Their lone spectator, however, remained wide awake as he stared at the ceiling. He wondered if Raven was still awake as well. He wondered if she thought of him. He wondered if she was as scared as he was.

She was awake. She did think of him. She was scared.

The sun rose, spilling light into the common room and stinging the already bloodshot eyes of the changeling, Beast Boy. He rolled over and squeezed his eyes shut and whimpering, almost sobbing. He was so _tired_ and all he wanted to do was sleep...

"Beast Boy," someone whispered. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah," he moaned. He looked up and saw the concerned face of his leader. He wasn't really surprised Robin woke up at dawn.

"Did you sleep at all?" Robin asked. Beast Boy only shook his head. "Damn. You... you want some breakfast?"

"Sure," Beast Boy replied. Not long after, Raven arrived, followed by a barely-conscious Starfire. Robin offered them all breakfast and soon they sat around the table, two sympathetic and and two irate and exhausted while Cyborg snored on his own. Robin and Starfire tried to make small talk but stumbled from awkward silence to awkward silence until, with a start, Cyborg sat up.

"FIRE TRUCK!" he cried, startling the others.

"Uh... what?" Beast Boy asked. Cyborg blinked at him.

"What?" he returned.

"You just shouted 'fire truck' real loud, dude," Beast Boy said. Cyborg blinked twice.

"What?"

"You just... you know what? Never mind. Just come have breakfast," Beast Boy said. Cyborg climbed to his feet and, as he approached, checked his arm display, which stopped him in his tracks.

"Whoa! Got a message from Mr Miracle... I think. He always replies with a new email. He managed to extract the Mother Box and says he'll visit us once he's got a lock on Control Freak's Apokoliptian tech," he reported. Robin sighed in relief, getting up from the table and heading to the couch, followed by the others.

"Good. Hopefully he can help us get some answers. Did he say when he might get here?" he asked. Cyborg shook his head.

"No. Could be some time though - he'll be going over every micron of that place for Apokolips or New Genesis technology... I guess there's no rush though," he said. Robin looked up at him, sharply.

"No rush?" he said. Cyborg smirked at him.

"You wanna be the one to wake 'em up?" he replied. Robin looked across at Beast Boy and Raven: having sat next to each other, the pair had promptly fallen asleep. Raven's head leaned on Beast Boy's head which, in turn, lay on Raven's shoulder. With no other clear idea of what to do, Robin elected to let them sleep.

**Finally, a bit more of this story. Not a lot going on in this bit but we're getting closer to the conclusion. I thank you for being patient with me on this one lol**

**-Jack**


	11. Wrap Party

**Behind The Scenes 11 - Wrap Party**

**This is it, the last bit. I know I kept this going for far too long so I hope this makes up for it!**

Raven smiled down at her hands as she fried a pair of eggs. She smiled as she grabbed a spatula and scooped the eggs on to two plates, already filled with other breakfast foods. She smiled as she picked up the plates and turned to see...

"Cyborg?" she mumbled, blinking up at the face of her friend. She looked around and realised she must have fallen asleep on the couch - to her right, Beast Boy still did just that, though Starfire was prodding him in the shoulder.

"Sorry to wake you, Rae, but you got a good seven hours," Raven looked up at him, taken aback. She _never_ slept for so long.

"Seven hours?" She glanced at the clock and saw it read 2:30pm. Seven hours indeed. "I never sleep that long..." she mumbled.

"Well, we definitely have some special circumstances going on," he joked. Raven sighed.

"I suppose. Why'd you-"

"Mmmmnnnnnnnnnnnwhy you gotta wake me up?" Beast Boy whined, blinking at a penitent Starfire. Raven nodded her head in his direction and returned her gaze to Cyborg.

"What he said," she said. Cyborg glanced between the pair a few times before answering.

"I got a message from Mr Miracle - he's on his way. Should be here any t-"

"Good afternoon, Titans," Scott said, appearing from the doorway. Cyborg grimaced at him.

"Can't you use the door for once in your life?" he groused. Scott smiled back.

"With a security system as good as yours, I couldn't resist the challenge," he replied. Cyborg's animosity vanished in the face of such praise.

"Well come on in!" he said. "You got anything that might help us?" Scott scratched his chin.

"Not exactly. Why don't you tell me what the problem is while the Mother Box scans them?" he said, producing a Mother Box, a different colour than his own. Control Freak's Mother Box. Beast Boy edged away along the couch.

"Hey, I don't wanna get sucked back into any sitcoms, dude," he warned. Scott chuckled.

"No need to worry about that: there's no trace of Control Freak's tech left in this one. I managed to separate and upgrade it so it's more like a true Mother Box, though I'll have to send it to Highfather for it to truly heal. For now, it's our best chance to diagnose you, being the most familiar with your situation," he explained. He set the box down on the table and it started to _ping_ at them as fine violet beams lanced out and roamed over their persons. As this happened, Cyborg and Robin explained about their sleeping troubles in as much detail as they knew. The violet light receded and the Mother Box emitted a final _ping_. Scott retrieved and took a good, long look at it. Though the Titans could see or hear no communication, somehow the Mother Box did just that, reporting its findings to Scott Free.

"Anything?" Cyborg asked, his impatience defeating him. Scott Free nodded distractedly, like he was still hearing the box somehow. Finally, he faced the Titans.

"It says there's residual programming written into their subconscious. They must have been compelled to so something in the simulation and didn't get to do it before we extracted them," he said. Raven swallowed and Beast Boy blushed: they knew what they had been compelled to do.

"So what do we do?" Beast Boy asked.

"The box says it can't undo it, not now that it's free of Control Freak's simulator, but all you'd have to do would be to act it out, that last thing, and the programming will complete. You'll be yourselves again," he said with a smile, which faltered when Beast Boy stood and marched out of the room. Cyborg took a few steps after him.

"BB? BB!" he called, making to follow him through the door when Raven stood in his path.

"I'll go," she said simply, following the green teen while the others watched in confusion. Raven found him in his room, pacing. She entered and sat on his bed while he watched, though he didn't pause. "You know what we need to do," she said. That got a pause.

"Yeah..." he muttered.

"Listen, it's okay. It's okay. I know it isn't ideal but we do this, we go back to normal and we can put all of this behind us," Raven said. Beast Boy just grumbled under his breath, still pacing. "You have my permission, Beast Boy. Consider your promise kept." He snorted derisively at that.

"Pff! Permission. Permission isn't the problem," he muttered. Raven sighed in mild exasperation.

"Then what is the problem, Beast Boy?! Connect the dots for me," she said, slightly louder than before. He stopped pacing and stared at her.

"Y-you, okay? It being you is the problem!" he cried. Raven folded her arms and glared at him, his words a little barb in her chest. She could have guessed he wasn't particularly enthusiastic about kissing her but he needn't be so blunt, even if she had asked him to speak. The moment in the hallway returned to her, when she thought him beautiful. A tiny spark of _something_ in her heart fizzled out and died. She pushed the pain aside and replaced it with something familiar: sarcasm.

"Well, you certainly know how to boost a girl's self-esteem," she drawled, turning her gaze to the door. Beast Boy looked at her with a perplexed expression, quickly replaced with dawning understanding. He stepped to her and knelt at her side.

"Raven! I didn't mean... that came out all wrong!" he said. Raven 'hmpph'ed at him.

"Too late to backtrack now, Beast Boy. I guess gray isn't your colour" she muttered. He stood up and grabbed at her hands, pulling them into his.

"No! Stop it! You're... You're not ugly or anything, okay? I didn't mean to sound like I thought that," he said, more firmly this time though he still clearly struggled with his wording.

"So if that isn't the problem with me, what is?" Raven asked, frustration beginning to tinge her words, though she deliberately calmed her breathing after she spoke. She couldn't afford to frighten him away.

"I said I wouldn't kiss you against your will. I _promised_," he wailed. Raven shook her head and tried to smile for him.

"I know. I appreciate that, I really do. But this needs to happen and I'm telling you it's alright. You kept your promise, Beast Boy, I do this of my own free will," she tried. She recalled how fiercely he had resisted in the simulation and felt her heart swell with his concern for her. He stood and started pacing again.

"Oh man oh man oh man..." he babbled.

"Beast Boy... please let's just get this over with. You kept your promise... I give you my permission. Please," she implored. He faced her again, standing still.

"Permission isn't the problem, Rae!" he cried, his voice becoming desperate. She stared back at him, at a loss for what to say. She blinked at him when, for some reason, a tear escaped and rolled down his cheek. "I... I wanted you to _want_ to kiss me," he whimpered. Raven stared and stared, Beast Boy looking more terrified by the second. Raven stood and he flinched away. She took a step and he stepped back. He liked her. That spark in her heart burst back into life as she realised there might be something there, something new between them. She recalled the hallway, where she thought him beautiful, and finally realised he had stood staring at her for the same time. Did he think the same? Did he think her beautiful? Dare she ask him? Dare she do any of it? She took a step. Then another. And another. Beast Boy watched miserably as she turned to his door... and _ran_.

The others watched as the door opened and Beast Boy walked in. Cyborg almost asked if they'd fixed whatever there was to fix but, judging by the sorrow in Beast Boy's expression, something had gone badly wrong. The shape-shifter plodded to the couch and almost collapsed on it, elbows on knees and head in hands.

"Uh... where's Raven, BB?" Cyborg tried.

"I dunno," Beast Boy replied.

"Did you... are you guys back to normal?" Cyborg asked. Beast Boy shook his head, still in his hands.

"No," he moaned.

"Well... what happened?" Robin asked.

"She ran away," Beast Boy replied, utterly miserable.

"Raven ran away?!" Starfire cried. "When will she return?" Beast Boy leapt to his feet and rounded on his friends.

"I dunno I dunno I dunno! _I DON'T KNOW_!" he yelled. His words were angry but his face... he was _distraught_. Scott Free, sensing the shift in atmosphere, quietly made his excuses to Robin and left, leaving the Titans to tend to their friend. The three of them stepped toward Beast Boy but stopped when they saw him shrink away from them. Cyborg turned to the others.

"Rob, Star: you guys see if you can find Raven. Leave BB to me," he said. Robin looked like he might protest but, after a long silence, he nodded and moved away, taking Starfire with him. Beast Boy flopped down on the couch again, joined shortly by Cyborg. He gave him a few minutes to calm down and then simply said: "Tell me." After that, Beast Boy couldn't be stopped: he blabbed and blurted everything that happened in his room and the final moments of their time in the simulation. When he was finished, Cyborg leaned back and blew out a deep breath. "Dude... your timing sucks." Beast Boy finally cracked a smile.

"Heh... yeah," he answered.

"But the immediate problem hasn't changed. Without Raven, you won't be able to sleep. And she won't be able to sleep without you. I hope she didn't run too far..." Cyborg fretted. At that moment, Starfire soared into the room.

"Raven is not in the Tower. I have also checked the whole island. She is gone!" she cried. Robin ran in shortly after, confirming her words. Cyborg cursed under his breath and Beast Boy's head fell back into his hands. They were all startled when Robin's communicator beeped, hoping it wasn't some new problem to deal with on top of their current mess.

"It's a message... from Raven!" he said. "It just says 'need time to think'. Think? Think about what?" he wondered. Beast Boy decided to make himself scarce before he ended up spilling the story to Robin and Starfire as well. He made his way to his room and, shutting the door behind him, curled up on his bed. Unable to sleep, all he could do was lie there as his mind cruelly played Raven's exit on repeat.

Raven didn't come back that night, though she did send another message confirming she was all right. She was making sure to switch the device off between messages so that Cyborg couldn't track her - she really wanted to be alone. Beast Boy cringed upon hearing that, so sure he had driven her away. The others suggested they all sleep in the common room, but Beast Boy declined, not in the mood to simply lie awake as they all slept. So in his room he remained, staring at the bottom of the bunk where Raven had slept above him.

The following morning, Robin found Beast Boy in the common room, playing video games. Biting back the 'you're up early' he had almost said, he perched on the back of the couch.

"When did this start?" he asked, nodding at the controller.

"I pretty much just waited for you all to go to bed. Didn't see much point in staying in mine, y'know?" Beast Boy answered. Robin frowned but couldn't really argue.

"Coffee?" he offered. Beast Boy's nose wrinkled.

"Blecchhh... yes, please," he replied. He had never been one for coffee but maybe the caffeine could take the edge off his fatigue. He felt so strange - he was tired and at the point he'd normally give up and sleep but it just wasn't there. He was tired but not sleepy, even having to reduce the difficulty of the game so he could keep up. He had never been one for coffee... but he sighed in relief when the mug appeared before him.

"Plenty of creamer and sugar," Robin added. "Might make it more to your taste." Beast Boy took a hearty swig and found, to his delight, he rather liked it. He gulped it down, Robin having wisely added a splash of cold water in case this happened. Even though it had tasted good, Beast Boy grimaced when he belched and the coffee smell filled his nose.

"Yeechh... thanks," he said. He returned to his game, even if his heart wasn't really in it. "You hear from Raven?" he asked. Robin sat nearby, his own coffee in hand.

"She left another message. I left one for her last night but she says she just isn't ready. Beast Boy... what _happened_?!" Robin asked, a hint of desperation in his usually composed voice. Beast Boy paused his game.

"I... I can't say. If she isn't ready I'm not going to talk about it while she isn't here. Sorry..." he mumbled. Robin frowned again.

"I get that something personal is going on here, but I hope you can get it cleared up. This is your business... but when it affects your health, that's _my_ business." he said. Beast Boy nodded and returned to his game, hoping that Raven was okay.

Raven breathed deeply, closing her eyes as the scent of the surrounding trees calmed her. She rarely used this place anymore, a bolt-hole she had built for herself when the Titans first formed. I wasn't much more than a hut, though it was sturdy and comfortable, with a small log fire and a soft bed. There were no supplies here these days so she had only what she could bring with her. She had tea (of course) and a water barrel, easy to fill from a nearby river, especially when you had telekinetic powers. She had gone into the city and bought some food - nothing too substantial, mainly soup and snacks - and some extra clothes. The hut was in the (relatively) nearby woods and she had found a spot that was difficult to get to and thus unlikely to be found by anyone, and it had only taken minutes to make it clean and livable. She sat in front of her hut in her new clothes and stared up at the sky. All of her trials with her friends, with enemies, with Malchior and even Trigon... none of them had driven her here and yet, here she was, just because a boy liked her. She chuckled and shook her head at the thought, yet she still hadn't really come to terms with it. She had deliberately deflected such things since Malchior, unwilling to risk herself again. Cowardly, perhaps, but safe. And somehow, in a few days, trapped together, the insufferable changeling had wheedled his way in.

"I've known him for years," she whispered. "Why now?" The answer came easily - their proximity and situation gave her an intimate view of the person he was. His heart. His _life_. And she liked what she saw, a depth to him she hadn't previously entertained. And then, that night in the corridor of the Tower... he was beautiful. That, at least, Raven had come to terms with. She rubbed her eyes: even with meditation, she needed sleep. She shook her head, trying to think. What was she so afraid of? Beast Boy? Herself? That he might grow to love her? That she might grow to love him? Or... that this new affection was all a part of the simulation and would vanish if they regained themselves? She knew it was hypocritical, but despite her obvious fear, she wasn't willing to give up the feeling, that spark in her chest, just yet.

Beast Boy was miserable, staring at the TV without seeing. He was so _tired_. He was desperate for Raven to come back home and simultaneously terrified of the same thing. He wished he had been able to tell her more, that it wasn't some years-old unrequited love thing but something that had started during their imprisonment in the Camper household, at least consciously. He had known for years that Raven was pretty. Hell, she was _hot_! But she was also Raven and that was that. Then he had seen a new side to her, one he had intuited but never truly experienced, a side of Raven that cared for her friends, that encouraged and supported them. She had been a shoulder to cry on in there - literally. She had seen him at his weakest and merely accepted it, holding him as few people had. That night in the corridor... she wasn't 'pretty' or 'hot'... she was _beautiful_. There were two possibilities that he saw: either he had fallen for her after their shared experience or the simulation was causing him to feel things for 'Lucy'.

He was terrified of both.

He glanced out the window at the darkened sky - it was late. The others had long retired to bed and, given his inability to focus, he switched off the TV and headed to his room. He arrived and changed into his sleepwear, a pair of shorts and a faded t shirt, and just as he was crawling into bed, he had an idea. Raven had slept in the top bunk, perhaps her scent was still there. Maybe he could fool his brain into thinking she was there. With a grin, he climbed the ladder and got under the sheets, closing his eyes and waiting for slumber to claim him. He breathed deep with his nose in the pillow.

"Raven..." he breathed. "Shit." The curse came about a half-hour after he had closed his eyes. He was still awake. He threw the sheets back and clambered back down to the floor. He sat heavily on his own bed and buried his face in his hands. He was so _tired_. He looked around his room for his communicator, desperate enough to try and talk to Raven. He saw it on his desk and got to his feet. He scooped it up and flipped it open, finding Raven's communicator in his contacts and hitting 'connect'. It failed. He tried again. It failed again. He sat on his bed again and stared at the device, tears of frustration and fatigue blurring his sight. "Raven, just talk to me," he whimpered.

"What would you like to talk about?" she said. Beast Boy jumped, nearly hitting his head on the top bunk. She was there, she was _right there_, watching him with amused but bloodshot eyes - she was as exhausted as him. He stared at her in befuddled silence and so she took the initiative. "Get into bed," she commanded. He dropped his communicator and did so, still watching her. He saw she wasn't wearing her uniform but a set of lilac pajamas - she had stopped by her room first. She took a step toward him, blinking with her own fatigue, and to his surprise, bypassed the ladder and lifted his own sheets, forcing him to scoot over.

"R-raven?!" he squeaked. Raven shook her head as she lay her head on his shoulder.

"Go to sleep," she urged.

"But-"

"Shhhhhh..."

"Okay..." he said, giving in. He was asleep in seconds.

Robin woke and immediately checked his communicator. It had a message from Raven: 'Coming home. Don't wake us.' He grinned and sighed in relief before donning his workout gear and heading for the gym.

Hours later, Beast Boy awoke gradually, slowly blinking sleep out of his eyes. There was a flash of purple in his vision and he looked to see Raven blinking up at him. He smiled widely.

"Morning honey," he said. She smiled back.

"Good morning, darling," she answered, leaning up and pecking him on the lips. Just like that, Tom and Lucy Camper were gone. Raven jerked back, wide awake and fully aware of what had just happened. Beast Boy stared back with wide and almost panicked eyes, afraid to say anything. They stared and stared and stared... Raven raised herself from the bed turning away for a moment. Beast Boy propped himself up on his elbows, his eyes wet.

"Rae... I... I'm sorry. I'm so sor-" Her hand pressed to his mouth. She couldn't bear to hear him apologise. She turned her body so she could face him, seeing the anguish in his eyes. Her hand over his mouth moved to his cheek, holding it gently and, hopefully, letting him know she wasn't upset with him. Her thumb brushed across his cheek, back and forth, and he closed his eyes and leaned into the touch. Her thumb stopped and he opened them again, staring up at her. Suddenly she jerked forward, stopping herself as her mouth worked silently. He swallowed as he stared. She jerked forward again, _surged_ forward, and planted her lips on his. It didn't last long but it was theirs, entirely theirs. Raven pulled back again and looked into his eyes. Whatever she was looking for, she seemed to find it and pressed her lips to his again. This time the kiss wasn't brief. Their lips moved across each other and Raven moaned when she dipped her tongue into his mouth and felt him reciprocate. She had somehow moved so that she was under the sheets again but almost on top of him. Her legs tangled with his and she had her hands behind his head, pulling herself into him. His hands roamed across her back, ending up with one on her shoulder and the other on the small of her back, holding her tight.

This lasted several minutes, though neither could be sure how many, until Raven finally pulled away only to pepper Beast Boy's neck with kisses, her hands in his hair. His hand on her back started to slide lower and lower. Raven pulled away again, her elbows either side of Beast Boy's head as she looked down on him. They were both breathing heavily and both had lidded eyes and flushed cheeks. Their closeness was suddenly obvious, the way their legs were intertwined, the way Raven's chest pressed against his. Beast Boy realised his hand was very nearly resting on Raven's butt and, with a groan, lifted it away. Raven smiled as she pushed herself up and disentangled her legs. In a few moments, the pair of them sat on the edge of Beast Boy's bed, still shell-shocked by what had happened. Beast Boy, still grinning, spoke first if not eloquently.

"Holy shit..." he mumbled. Raven nodded.

"Agreed. What now?" she said, her eyes glancing toward him. He turned his shoulders to face her properly, grabbing her hand and holding it.

"Just so there's no doubt, I think you're awesome and gorgeous and I wanna go out with you. Maybe spend some time together under less totally crazy conditions," he laughed. Raven unsuccessfully fought off a smile.

"Thank you, Beast Boy. Garfield. May I call you Garfield?" she asked. Beast Boy grinned at her in a way that apparently now turned her insides to mush.

"Absoloutely," he said, certainly, lifting her hand to his mouth and placing a kiss on the back. Despite what they had just done, Raven found herself blushing at the act, the unabashed romance. That possibility she had feared seemed much more pronounced now, the possibility that they might fall in love. It was still frightening, in its own way, but she found herself strangely excited at the prospect. She shook her head - she was getting too far ahead of herself. As she thought all of this, Beast Boy was growing a little anxious. "Uh... Rae? You haven't actually said if you'll go out with me yet..." he stammered. Raven blinked at him.

"Hmm? Oh! Oh. Yes. Yes, I think I would like that... but we take things slow, understood? Honestly I'm surprised I didn't break anything when we... we... when we..."

"Made out?" Beast Boy helpfully supplied with a cheeky grin and waggling eyebrows. Raven blushed again.

"Ahem... quite," she agreed, quietly. "My fatigue might have tempered my powers a little."

"Wait... there was a real chance of that? You blowing us up?" Beast Boy asked. Raven shrugged... and then nodded.

"Yes. Hence the slowly," she said. Beast Boy nodded

"Right. Okay. Well, I'm willing to wait if I can get kissed like _that_ again," he laughed. Raven cursed under her breath as she blushed once more. She lifted her other hand to his face and let it slide down to hi neck, her fingers stroking a spot on his left side beneath his jaw.

"I'll have to remember that spot. You certainly sounded like you enjoyed it..." she said. This time, Beast Boy blushed, and an interesting new chade of red to boot. With the adrenaline in her blood ebbing, Raven found herself yawning. "You know what? I think I'd actually like to go back to bed. First time for everything, I suppose." Beast Boy laughed and shuffled back into his bed, waiting for Raven to join him. She raised an eyebrow and eyed him critically.

"Seeing as we just agreed to take things slow, I'll be heading back to my own bed, which I haven't slept in for almost a week now," Raven said, concealing her mild amusement when Beast Boy pouted like a grounded child.

"Oh. Okay," he muttered. Raven rolled her eyes and leaned down, under the bunk, and placed a chaste but lingering kiss on Beast Boy's lips.

"Sweet dreams, Garfield," she said, getting a grin and another one of those shades of red from the changeling.

"Yeah, you too, Rae. See you soon," he said, never taking his eyes from her as she left. He closed his eyes and slowly drifted to sleep.

Raven walked down the corridor, almost with a skip in her step. As she did, Cyborg emerged from his room and, upon seeing her, smiled incandescently.

"Rae! You're back! You and BB okay? No more trouble?" he asked, hopefully. Raven stopped and smirked at him.

"Oh, I think I'm in a whole new kind of trouble," she said before resuming her journey to her room, not knowing that Cyborg had put her vague clue together with Beast Boy's confession. Naturally, he knew it would be confidential, a fact he impressed on Robin and Starfire when he told them all about it. But that is all yet to come.

For now, Raven climbed into her own bed and closed her eyes, hoping she dreamed of Beast Boy.

**TA-DAAAA! Finally, after somehow keeping this on going for a year, I have finished. This chapter is longer than average but I didn't fell right splitting it up and having yet another cliffhanger! So here you go. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for sticking with me ^_^**

**-Jack**


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